“Incompletion and pencil lines are a vital part of my practice – because the stories of the obscured black faces I paint aren’t finished” – Kwabena Lartey.
Kwabena Lartey [b. 1995] completed his studies at Takoradi Technical University in 2017, where he focused on painting and drawing primarily. He worked as a shopkeeper and maintenance technician at a Biscuit factory in Accra. Though working at the factory gave less time for his own art practice, he was able to find small moments to create hyper-realistic drawings and paintings, which now remain in his archives.
He finds inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci, and modern Ghanaian artist-household name Emmanuel Adaimah – one’s work embodies an enigmatic sensibility. At the same time, the other’s practice is steeped in the ubiquity of market life in Ghana. His work focuses on the connection between the identities of black bodies and the effects of injustice in Western Africa and the United States. Kwabena has participated in few exhibitions, including the Art x Ink and Black Festival in Accra, Ghana. He debuted his solo exhibition: “The Unknowns,” at the residency in July 2021. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Noldor Residency for the 2021 year. Currently, in his tenure, he will debut his first international solo exhibition with the Chilli Art Project in London next year, January 2022.