Amoako Boafo

_{1984 Accra, Ghana}

Amoako Boafo is a Ghanaian contemporary artist known for his portraits of figures typically done on solid color backgrounds. Born in 1984 in Accra, Ghana, Boafo grew up wanting to be an artist despite a lack of art infrastructure in his community. He graduated from Accra's Ghanatta College of Art and Design in 2008 and moved to Vienna in 2014. There he started a series of portraits of Black figures he met in the city, drawing inspiration from Vienna Secessionists like Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. His protagonists appear graceful and elegant and point to one of Boafo's central themes: "Black Experience" - an experience that he witnessed more intensely when he began his studies in Vienna and which he incorporates in his works.
“The primary idea of my practice is representation, documenting, celebrating, and showing new ways to approach Blackness.”
- Amoako Boafo
His figures confidently represent the "black diaspora" - proud, present, and expansive, embedded in colorful fashion. Boafo applies paint mostly with his fingers, simultaneously creating rough and delicate elements that highlight the essence of his sitters and create works with a distinctive style. Amoako Boafo received the top prize of the 2019 STRABAG Artaward International. The STRABAG Artcollection features several works by the artist, including two self-portraits.