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]

Early life and career[edit]

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[edit]

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]

References[edit]

  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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b Spring, Chris (2008-11-22). Angaza Africa: African Art Now. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85669-548-0.
  7. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "'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.