A new catalogue on the work of Ghanaian rising star Amoako Boafo accompanying an exhibition at
the Belvedere Vienna. The Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo is considered one of the most
important voices from a new generation of Black artists. Boafo portrays his friends
acquaintances and people from public life presenting a contemporary image of Black
self-empowerment and self-perception. After graduating from art college in Accra Boafo began
studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 2013 where he developed his signature style
characterized by his unusual finger-painting technique. The people portrayed by Boafo embody
the idea of Black identity that draws on its own culture to be understood as an act of
resistance against the racist labels of a predominantly white society. The artist's intensive
engagement with Black history is subtly reflected in his paintings that include motifs inspired
by literary works by key pioneers of the Black Freedom Movement. This beautifully
illustrated catalogue accompanies the first exhibition staged of his work in Europe at the
Belvedere in Vienna from October 2024 to January 2025. It features texts from the artist
himself as well as British curator and writer Ekow Eshun and author of Ghana Must Go Taiye
Selasi.
