Kofi Agorsor Gallery

Born: 1970, Ghana

Biography:
Kofi Agorsor started his career as a sign writer painting houses, cars and kiosks with advertising images. He followed his art training at the Ankle School of Art in Accra. In his view, there is an essential difference between sign writing and painting as a sign writer is not involved with concepts and the underlying ideas whereas a painter has to create something, translate his/her feelings in a painting.

Kofi’s talent is vigorous and original. In his relatively short working life, he has explored traditional themes in a tricky colorful language that borders upon the abstract, enhancing his effect with subtle touches of irony and music. Color is goofy, shapes jiggle with sound.

His language is as inventive as it is confident. Where other West African painters remain subjects themselves of the area's vast cultural baggage, Kofi is not weighed down by it. Instead he sets out to upset, to trigger thought. By removing color, he plays with the view in an exercise that purifies the movement of the design, while challenging out expectations.

Kofi, it would seem, enjoys rocking the boat. His earlier works frequently show the energy to the fishing haul, the friction of the dance. Never static, nor a removed observer of age-old setting, he continues to push his own vigorous, explosive presence into what he sees. His youth and confidence indicate there is a bold road ahead. Presently he is painting full time.

Kofi is a versatile artist as he paints with both hands and is a successful musician and dancer. In between times, he works on his pineapple plantation in the Volta region. He has adopted no less than four children. "Children are not pretending, I love children", he says. His works are collected worldwide and have been exhibited in a variety of countries, including Italy, the United States and South Africa.

Inspirations:
Kofi channels his creative energy into music. He finds inspiration in traditional music that is played on drums and shell horns, but also in modern jazz. He spends a lot of time in the recording studio with his flute. When looking at his dynamic paintings that consist of colourful rectangles, it is clear to see that music is an important source of inspiration; you can almost hear the jazz rhythms.
Kofi Agorsor is without a doubt one of Ghana's most inventive and lyrical young painters.

Women are another source of inspiration. "I love woman, I love their company". The women that he paints in explosions of colourful blocks seem to actually move. Whenever he cannot find the inspiration to make music or paint, Kofi disappears to his native village where working on his pineapple plantation brings him peace of mind. "I get inspiration mostly in the village. It is quiet, no hustling, no appointments. So you can concentrate more in the village".

He chooses to use his art a medium of communication. He is particularly concerned with women and children's rights issues. His interests in contemporary culture are also reflected in his paintings.

He is not very impressed by the new generation of artists in Ghana. "We have a lot of talent here but the youngsters are not doing well at all. They just want money. They do not know how to draw properly. They copy and they do not copy well".

Education:
1987: Completed Junior Secondary School
1993: Diploma in Art; Ankle College of Art, Accra, Ghana

Exhibitions:
Has held six solo exhibitions at Novotel Hotel and ten group exhibitions in Accra, Ghana, Italy and USA

1998: Invited to stay in Bologna, Italy
1999: Solo exhibition in Los Angeles, USA
2000: Several Solo and Group exhibitions; USA

Shows:
Togo
La Cote d’Ivoire
South Africa
Botswana
Zimbabwe


Collections:
Togo
La Cote d’Ivoire
Nigeria
Italy
Germany
England
Canada
USA