A new exhibition by Accra’s ADA\Contemporary Gallery is the latest affirmation that Ghanaian artist Foster Sakyiamah is a talent on the rise. Known for taking the subjects of Old Master paintings and reimagining them with African women, bold colors, and vivid patterns, he creates works that are familiar and utterly new at the same time. One of the major works in the collection is “Akosua As Desire,” which is influenced by Gauguin’s 1892 painting “The Seed of the Areoi.” It shows a Ghanaian lady whose Black body is painted in red skin seated in the nude and holding what looks like a mango while sitting on a table covered with cloth to convey independence, a sense of nurturing, and femininity. A second painting that also received the Sakyiamah spin is Vermeer’s 1665 painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” He tells OkayAfrica that the paintings were created to “discuss and celebrate women” through his gaze, in what he calls “empowering objectification.”
