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Ghanaian painter drawing international acclaim brings exhibit to Denver Art Museum

As renowned Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo brings his exhibition titled “Soul of Black Folks” — a nod to the W.E.B. Du Bois book of the same name —to the Denver Art Museum this week, Director Christoph Heinrich reflected on the project’s path to Denver.

“It really only took us a few moments to make a decision,” Heinrich said of when the museum was approached with an offer to present the traveling exhibition containing more than 30 works encompassing years of portraiture from Boafo.

“This is a show we really want to show; he’s truly one of these cosmopolitan, emerging artists with very deep roots in his country of origin, Ghana,” Heinrich said.

Libby and D-Lee, 2019

Boafo seeks to explore what it means to be black, the meaning of joy and more in his series of more than 30 portraits spanning six years now on display in the Denver Art Museum's Hamilton Building.

Courtesy: Denver Art Museum

Libby and D-Lee, 2019

Boafo seeks to explore what it means to be black, the meaning of joy and more in his series of more than 30 portraits spanning six years now on display in the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building. 






Boafo has become well-known in part for his use of his own fingers to paint his portraiture subjects, including himself in an expansive series of self portraits now on display on the first floor of DAM’s Hamilton Building.

Boafo “paints with tenderness and care… directly touching the canvas to render the likeness of his friends, acquaintances and those he admires from the broader, global black diaspora,” DAM curator Rory Padeken said.

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“I had a lot of control with a brush,” Boafo said. “I wanted to move away from control because it restricts me from certain things that I want to experiment on… It allows me to be as free as possible, it gives me a different way of thinking about making imagery.”

Amoako Boafo listens to Larry Ossei-Mensah speak

Amoako Boafo listens to Larry Ossei-Mensah speak during his exhibition's opening at the Denver Art Museum Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Tom Hellauer tom.hellauer@denvergazette.com

Amoako Boafo listens to Larry Ossei-Mensah speak

Amoako Boafo listens to Larry Ossei-Mensah speak during his exhibition’s opening at the Denver Art Museum Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. 






Exhibit curator Larry Ossei-Mensah — who previously worked to bring the works to Houston, Seattle and San Francisco — hopes the paintings provoke some thought.

“[Amoako and I] want you to think about the humanity of black people. Think about the humanity that we all encompass and sometimes forget in the hustle and bustle of our daily life. Think about joy. ‘What does joy mean to you?’ What does it mean to express yourself, your full self?” Ossei-Mensah said.

Larry Ossei-Mensah speaks to media, museum staff and more gathered for the opening of Denver Art Museum's exhibition

Denver Art Museum's Larry Ossei-Mensah speaks to media, museum staff and more gathered for the opening of Denver Art Museum's exhibition of, 'Soul of Black Folks,' by Amoako Boafo on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2023.

Tom Hellauer/Denver Gazette

Larry Ossei-Mensah speaks to media, museum staff and more gathered for the opening of Denver Art Museum's exhibition

Denver Art Museum’s Larry Ossei-Mensah speaks to media, museum staff and more gathered for the opening of Denver Art Museum’s exhibition of, ‘Soul of Black Folks,’ by Amoako Boafo on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2023.






The portraits, spanning six years of Boafo’s painting career, show: “him evolve not only as an artist, but as a man, as a black man, as an African,” Ossei-Mensah, who is also of Ghanaian descent, said.

The exhibit is on display until Feb. 19, 2024.

Amoako Boafo recently worked on a Dior collection before bringing more than 30 portraits to new exhibition on display in Denver Art Museum. 

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