In 2008, The New York Times captured the controversy. Critic Holland Cotter wrote, “What unites the artists is a shared view of Africa, less a place than a concept; a cultural force, one that runs through the world the way a gulf stream run through an ocean: part of the whole, but with its own tides and temperatures.”

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is a London artist of Ghanaian descent who epitomizes the beautiful side of Afropolitanism. Although she was born and educated in London, Africa is never far from her powerful yet simple portraits. Ms. Yiadom-Boakye described her subjects to the Ghanaian Journal last year this way:

“Although they are not real, I think of them as people known to me. They are imbued with a power of their own. They have a resonance – something emphatic and otherworldly. I admire them for the strength of their moral fiber. If they are pathetic, they don’t survive – if I feel sorry for someone, I get rid of them. I don’t like to paint victims. You don’t recognize them because they have no allegiance anywhere.”

Ms. Yiadom-Boakye sees the strength and beauty of her African roots and subjects and shares what she envisions internationally. Although her paintings are very dark in color, mostly African subjects on very dark backgrounds, there is something haunting that makes the subjects pop as if there was more use of color. Her portraits resemble classical European portraits, but are undeniably African. She is a true Afropolitan.

Ms. Yiadom-Boakye has, at only 32, has had solo exhibitions in London, Geneva, and South Africa and has been a dynamic contributor to group exhibitions in London, Germany, Spain, and Korea. Her current show, Essays and Documents is on display at the Jack Shainman Gallery, 513 West 20th Street in New York City, (www.jackshainman.com) through May, 22, 2010.