Amoako Boafo Guide | Denver Art Museum

The primary idea of my practice is representation, documenting, celebrating, and showing new ways to approach Blackness.

Amoako Boafo’s paintings emerge from direct touch. To create his lush portraits, he combines intricate brushwork and thick, finger-painted strokes. Swirling ribbons of paint add depth and dimension to the faces and hands of his subjects. Understated backgrounds draw attention to contemplative and unguarded figures who look intently at the viewer. Standing in contrast to negative media representations, Boafo’s paintings celebrate the beauty, confidence, and joy embodied by his Black subjects.

Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks is the artist’s debut solo museum exhibition in the United States. The show’s title is inspired by The Souls of Black Folk, the seminal ethnographic study of Black life published in 1903 by the sociologist and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois. This text serves as a catalyst to think deeply about how Boafo’s artistic practice functions as its own study that challenges stereotypes and assumptions about the Black body.

All artworks in this exhibition are by Amoako Boafo.

About the Artist

Born in 1984 and raised in Accra, Ghana, Amoako Boafo makes art with tenderness and conviction. Intimately connected to his experience living and working between Africa and Europe, his paintings are deeply personal. They serve as a means of self-preservation and self-affirmation—a celebration of his identity and Blackness. More than mere portraits, his figures assert the dignity and importance of Black people.

Gallery Labels

Self Portrait with Pink Pants
2020
Oil paint on canvas
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

Self-portrait of the artist posed nude. He is shown from the waist up and his lower half dissolves into dripping paint. He leans back with one arm resting on a ledge holding a book with a cover that reads “BLACK SKIN WHITE MASK” by Frantz Fanon in his hand. His eyes gaze upward to the right.

Black Skin, White Mask
2016
Acrylic paint on canvas
Kehinde Wiley Collection, New York City
© Amoako Boafo

This painting continues Boafo’s self-portrait series where the artist reads the writings of important Black authors, such as the philosopher-psychiatrist Frantz Fanon. In his seminal 1952 text, Fanon articulates a searing critique of the effects of racism and questions the construction of identity, with a specific focus on notions of Blackness. Likewise, Boafo uses his paintings to question history and the harmful tropes associated with Black people, offering an alternative that depicts the Black figure in moments of respite, reflection, and contemplation.

Self-portrait of the artist looking over his shoulder to the right. He wears his dreaded hair in a high bun, with some bangs on the left side. He has a closely cropped beard and a serious expression. He wears a white collared shirt.

White on White
2019
Oil paint on paper
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

Self-portrait of the artist from the waist up looking in a mirror above an old-fashioned, gray-white radiator. He is nude and poses resting his head on his hand atop his upturned knee. He wears dreadlocks in a bun.

Reflection I
2018
Oil paint on paper
Private collection, courtesy of Roberts Projects, Los Angeles
© Amoako Boafo. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.

In this self-portrait, Boafo captures the complex nature of a self divided. His pose resembles Auguste Rodin’s 1904 sculpture The Thinker, a work symbolizing the suffering and salvation found in self-reflection. Boafo’s introspective portrait may also allude to W. E. B. Du Bois’s notion of “double consciousness,” whereby Black people must constantly look at themselves through the eyes of “others.” By looking at his reflection instead, Boafo challenges the “othered” gaze often applied to the Black body.

Color photograph Rodin’s sculpture, The Thinker, which features a naked man sitting in a contemplative position with his head resting on his hand. The sculpture has a deep jade colored patina. — Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), *The Thinker*, 1903. Bronze. Musée Rodin, Paris, S.01295. Image credit: © Photographic Agency of musée Rodin – Jérome Manoukian.

The artist poses nude lounging on a mint-colored blanket with a brown butterfly print. He holds an open book in one hand. The cover reads “TAIYE SELASI, GHANA MUST GO.” He holds his other hand up to his mouth. He wears turquoise nail polish on both hands.

Ghana Must Go
2017
Oil paint on canvas
Kehinde Wiley Collection, New York City
© Amoako Boafo

Here, Boafo reads Ghana Must Go, a novel published in 2013 by Taiye Selasi, a British American author of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin. Selasi’s text explores the importance of honoring where we come from and the journey needed to understand ourselves. The “self” as eternally evolving is an essential theme of Boafo’s self-portraits. In each painting, the artist depicts a multifaceted image of himself unafraid of the viewer’s gaze.

Self-Portrait—Masked
2020
Oil paint on paper
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

Monstera Leaf Cape
2021
Oil paint and paper transfer on canvas
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

Three-quarters portrait of a smiling Black woman wearing all blue in the shade of cobalt. On her head she wears a blue wide brimmed hat, and a blue feathery textured coat up to her chin.

Lady in Blue
2019
Oil paint on paper
Vanessa Guo Collection
© Amoako Boafo

A three-quarters portrait of a Black woman. In the left-hand side of the frame, she wears her hair back, with gold dangly earrings, and a beige long-sleeved shirt. She gazes slightly to the left, mouth open and teeth showing. In the right-hand side, she has one hand up with her ring finger on her thumb, and other fingers extended in a gesture.

Fuck You Mean Tho
2019
Oil paint on paper
Private collection, courtesy of Roberts Projects, Los Angeles
© Amoako Boafo

Three-quarters portrait of a Black woman resting her head on her hand that has long, coral-colored nails. She gazes slightly to the left, with her lips parted and teeth showing. She wears a dark, textured coat.

Abena Boamah
2019
Oil paint on canvas
Private collection, courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago, Mexico City, and Paris
© Amoako Boafo

Three-quarters portrait of a Black woman with dark, cropped hair and her mouth closed looking to the right of the frame. She wears a sunflower-yellow pullover with a beige scarf around her neck.

Yellow Pullover
2019
Oil paint on paper
Lester Marks/LCM Partners Collection
© Amoako Boafo

Three-quarters portrait of a Black man with his hands resting under his chin. He looks slightly to the left with his mouth partially open to just barely show his top teeth. He wears his hair short on the sides, and it extends beyond the top of the frame. He wears a black coat with a white floral pattern.

Sam
2019
Oil paint on paper
Lester Marks/LCM Partners Collection
© Amoako Boafo

A Black woman with short, dark hair poses with her legs crossed sitting on a gray sofa. She rests her elbow on them, with her hand below her chin, and gazes straight ahead. Her other arm extends out behind a beige-brown cushion. She wears a long-sleeved, short-skirted dress with a green palm leaf pattern. A small teal-green clutch purse rests next to her on the left.

Green Clutch
2021
Oil paint and paper transfer on canvas
Private collection, courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago, Mexico City, and Paris
© Amoako Boafo

Most of my practice has to do with focusing on a single figure who commands the space they’re in. I want them to own the space.

Boafo gives us a glimpse into his solitary subject’s domestic space. The spare scene contrasts with the rich texture of the artist’s painterly technique, which gives the seated figure a palpable energy. Her confident gaze suggests a woman unapologetically owning the body and space she inhabits. The work’s title, Green Clutch, also emphasizes how one’s material possessions can be an extension of the self.

A Black woman with shoulder length hair sits on a brown bench wearing a long-sleeve, white dress. Her hands rest under her chin. She gazes to the right of the frame. To the left, a clear vase with water holding sprigs of light pink astilbe flowers sits on a white table that blends into her dress.

Pink Astilbe
2021
Oil paint on canvas
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

Portrait of a seated Black man from the waist up. He wears an olive-green colored suit with a white, collarless white shirt underneath, and a black beret. His mouth is closed, and he gazes slightly to the upper right. His hands are folded together in the left of the frame.

Steven Onoja
2018
Oil paint on canvas
Derek Fordjour Collection, New York City
© Amoako Boafo

A portrait of two Black figures from the waist up. The figure on the left wears a cropped, red top, and embraces the other figure from behind. The figure on the right wears a light, dusty pink bandeau top. They both have their eyes closed and smile with their teeth showing.

Libby and D-Lee
2019
Oil paint on canvas
Courtesy of Holly Jane Butler and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles
© Amoako Boafo

Portrait of a Black man looking directly ahead. His mouth is closed. He wears a black top with a delicate, white, floral-vine print. On his head, he wears a black beanie that extends from the top of his head.

Beanie Hat
2021
Oil paint on canvas
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

Three-quarters portrait of a Black woman wearing a mask with a neutral floral print and a red bonnet looking directly ahead. She has her arm on the right-hand side of the frame raised behind her head, and her other arm is down. She wears a sleeveless white shirt with vertical black stripes.

Amoabea—Masked
2020
Oil paint and paper transfer on canvas
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

A three-quarters portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He gazes, unsmiling, straight ahead. He wears a jacket with many colorful dots arranged in neat and linear rows, with a large white collar.

Basquiat—Buttoned Jacket
2020
Oil paint and paper transfer on canvas
Courtesy of the artist
© Amoako Boafo

Boafo paints himself, personal friends, and individuals he admires. Basquiat—Buttoned Jacket portrays the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988), of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent. Basquiat rose to fame in New York City in the 1980s with energetic paintings that disclosed issues of wealth inequality, colonialism, and the lack of representation of Black people in art. His bold and unapologetic approach to art making has made him a cultural icon for artists like Boafo.

A bright orange wall upon which hangs five televisions. Each television is playing a video of a different part of Amoako Boafo's painting process, focusing in tightly on his hands and the motions they make at different stages of painting.

This lack of instrumental barrier sets me free and diffuses a barrier between myself and the subject. I am able to connect with the subject in a more intimate way.

Watch Amoako Boafo’s painting process.

Just as a writer expresses themselves with words, I express myself by painting a picture.

Explore the range of Black creative expression through this collection of works curated by the Denver Public Library. Inspired by subjects important to Boafo’s practice, you’ll find works that delve into the arts and culture of Africa and the diaspora.

Explore the range of Black creative experience through this collection of works curated by the Denver Public Library.

W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk

In his groundbreaking 1903 text on race in the United States, W. E. B. Du Bois famously stated that “the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line.”

Du Bois examined the everyday lives of Black Americans, covering topics such as the emancipation of formerly enslaved Black people in the US, pathways to Black progress, and education as a means of empowerment. Notably, Du Bois proposed the idea of “double consciousness,” which suggests Black people must be aware of how they perceive themselves and others. He wrote:

One ever feels his two-ness, —an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

As you view the works in this exhibition, consider how Boafo’s subjects are represented. Are they aware of being viewed? What do their gazes communicate?

Portrait of the artist’s brother and sister from the waist up. The brother stands in front, smiling, with short hair, wearing a long sleeve white shirt. The sister is behind, wrapping her arms around her brother’s shoulders. She is also smiling, and wears her hair back, and a sleeveless white shirt.

Happy Siblings
2019
Oil paint on canvas
Jesse Williams Collection
© Amoako Boafo

Portrait of Jay-Z and Beyonce from the knee-up. On the left, Jay-Z faces straightforward wearing a white tuxedo and black bowtie, and his hair in medium length dreads braided together that stick out from his head several inches. Beyonce embraces him with her back to the viewer. She wears a low-backed, white dress, and her hair is up.

Front-facing portrait of a Black man wearing a checkered suit in shades of red and pinks. His hair stands up a couple of inches off the top of his head and has a deep side part on the right, and a cropped beard. He holds a small terrier dog in his arms.

Hudson Burk and Benedita Furacao
2018
Oil paint on canvas
Private collection, courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Chicago, Mexico City and Paris
© Amoako Boafo

A portrait of a Black woman from the knees up, facing straight forward. She has long hair and red lips. She wears a collared white shirt with bell sleeves and a neutral floral pattern, atop short black shorts. A brown belt cinches her waist. Her hands are unfinished and appear white.

My intentions are always to present my subjects in a vibrant way, which is why I decided to embellish my works with gift wrappings. The wrappings adorn my subjects in a momentous way with their intriguing patterns.

Umber Brown Belt demonstrates the textiles and patterns that have become synonymous with Boafo’s practice. Here, the artist employs a photo-transfer technique to add an ornate flower pattern to the women’s creamy tunic. Her fashion conveys self-confidence and underscores her striking pose.

Portrait of two Black women standing next to each other with one arm wrapped around the others’ back. The woman on the left wears her hair up and a white jacket and holds a small black and white dog with a red collar. The woman on the right has long hair and wears a sleeveless dress with white, blue, red, and black vertical stripes.

Black and White
2018
Oil paint on paper
Private collection, courtesy of Roberts Projects, Los Angeles
© Amoako Boafo. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.

Fashion is also a big thing for me: It’s a way of saying something without actually saying it.

Personal style and fashion are recurring themes in Boafo’s work. His titles often direct our attention to a specific garment worn by his subjects. In this painting, the woman’s checkered jacket is both an emblem of her tastes and a means of cloaking her body from unwanted gazes.

A three-quarters portrait of a Black man with his head turned to look over his left shoulder; his gaze looks to the right of the frame. He wears a tall, black beret and has a serious expression on his face.

This work alludes to the Civil Rights era in the United States and the ongoing global fight for social justice. Dressed in black and donning a black beret, the figure in this painting recalls images of the Black Panther Party, a Black power political organization founded in Oakland, California, in 1966. Boafo renders the figure’s skin with brown and blue tones. Blue—both symbolic of royalty and a sign of a bruise—perhaps suggests the man’s importance and vulnerability.

Portrait of a Black woman with her hair pulled back and a long sleeve, sunflower-yellow blouse. She sits at a brown table with a blank, white menu and a sprig of white flowers in a transparent glass in front of her. Her elbows are on the table with both hands to the side of her face. A neutral floral wallpaper in the background.

Three-quarters self-portrait of the artist. He is nude and looks over his shoulder, gazing directly ahead. His mouth is closed. He has a closely cropped beard, and he wears his pink, dreadlocked hair pulled up with a blue hair tie on the top of his head.

Self Portrait—Blue Band and Pink Hair
2019
Oil paint on paper
Private collection, New York, courtesy of Roberts Projects, Los Angeles
© Amoako Boafo

Scientific and Cultural Facilities District: We Fund Culture

Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks is presented in partnership between Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco. The exhibition is curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.

The presentation of this exhibition at the Denver Art Museum is organized by Rory Padeken, Vicki and Kent Logan Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. It is funded by Vicki and Kent Logan, the Birnbaum Social Discourse Project, U.S. Bank, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.