Kwame Akoto

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Kwame Akoto (born 1950) is a Ghanaian painter and artist. He lives in Kumasi, Ghana. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Early life and career

Akoto was born in Kumasi, where he had his elementary and middle school education. [2] [6] He showed interest in art early on in his life and studied with two art masters, Addaï and Kobia Amafi. [7] In 1972, he opened his first art workshop which he named 'Anthony Art Works,' in dedication to the eleventh-century Franciscan friar Anthony of Padua. [8] [9] He adopted the name 'Almighty God' after he converted to Christianity. [10] [11] He then changed the name of his workshop to Amighty God Art Works. [6] [12] His religious encounter has had significant influence on his life and work, especially the moral stances that appear often in his work. [10] [13] His workshop has produced advertisement materials, including hand-painted film posters, barbershop signs, and salon shop signs. [2] [14] [15] Akoto was included in Ghanaian artist and historian Atta Kwami's book Kumasi Realism. [16]

Exhibitions

Akoto and his work have been featured in many exhibitions across the world, including in Ghana, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Portugal, and the United States. [7] [17] In 2022, he was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at The Fowler Museum at UCLA. [14]

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References

  1. ↑ Mittman, Asa Simon; Dendle, Peter (2012). The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN   978-1-4094-0754-6.
  2. 1 2 3 Njami, Simon (2007). Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent. Jacana Media. ISBN   978-1-77009-363-8.
  3. ↑ African Arts. African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles. 2008.
  4. ↑ Arlt, Veit; Arts, Detroit Institute of (2009). Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to Present. Detroit Institute of Arts. ISBN   978-0-89558-163-1.
  5. ↑ UCLA, Fowler Museum at; Berns, Marla (2014). World Arts, Local Lives: The Collections of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Fowler Museum at UCLA. ISBN   978-0-9847550-6-6.
  6. 1 2 Spring, Chris (2008-11-22). Angaza Africa: African Art Now. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN   978-1-85669-548-0.
  7. 1 2 "1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair" . Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  8. ↑ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  9. ↑ "Kwame Akotot: Almighty God". RAW VISION. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  10. 1 2 Salami, Gitti; Visona, Monica Blackmun (2013-12-24). A Companion to Modern African Art. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-1-4443-3837-9.
  11. ↑ Coping with Evil in Religion and Culture: Case Studies. BRILL. 2008-01-01. ISBN   978-94-012-0537-5.
  12. ↑ Ryan, Virginia (2004). Strangers in Accra: And Other Stories. Afram Publications (Ghana). ISBN   978-9964-70-373-8.
  13. ↑ Meyer, Birgit (2013). "Kwame "Almighty" Akoto, The Supernatural Eyes of God". MAVCOR Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  14. 1 2 "'How Do You See This World?': The Art of Almighty God | Fowler Museum at UCLA" . Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  15. ↑ Drewal, Henry John (2008). Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas. Fowler Museum at UCLA. ISBN   978-0-9748729-9-5.
  16. ↑ KUMASI REALISM, 1951 - 2007: An African Modernism. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 2014-03-31. ISBN   978-1-84904-087-7.
  17. ↑ "ALMIGHTY GOD | Kwame Akoto (signs ALMIGHTY GOD), Ghana. PAINTINGS | visit Almighty God 's (Kwame Akoto) gallery for available artworks". www.africancontemporary.com. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
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