Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Jeremiah Quarshie’s Highly Realistic Portraits of Ghanaian Women

Ghanaian artist Jeremiah Quarshie finds the inspiration for his paintings in his immediate environment. Living and working in Accra, the capital of Ghana, his highly realistic acrylic portraits depict models, typically ordinary women, in roles of beauty queens, businesswomen, and laborers alike. In his own words, the people in his portraits are characters representing the “foundations of society into pools of utter elegance", 21st century workers and fictional women.

Ghanaian artist Jeremiah Quarshie finds the inspiration for his paintings in his immediate environment. Living and working in Accra, the capital of Ghana, his highly realistic acrylic portraits depict models, typically ordinary women, in roles of beauty queens, businesswomen, and laborers alike. In his own words, the people in his portraits are characters representing the “foundations of society into pools of utter elegance”, 21st century workers and fictional women.

Working from original photographs taken in his studio, Quarshie further describes his work as a combination between reality and fantasy or his imagination: “Staged photographs on occasion serve as complete works of art. Some of these photographs are created by superimposing Ghanaian elements on other non Ghanaian contexts creating rather unusual situations in very unique ways.”

“Yellow is the Colour of Water” is the title of Quarshie’s new body of work, portraits which address “broader questions of hope in failing political systems.” He explains, “Rituals are often associated with commerce, social status, social problems, fashion and technology. Ironical contexts can be seen when one singles out an everyday practice. The contexts are usually found in everyday Ghanaian life.” His solo show “Yellow is the Colour of Water” will open at Gallery 1957, Accra, on August 18th.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Nicolas Uribe’s painted portraits contain varying levels of abstraction, injecting both a surreal and engrossing quality into each work. The Colombia-based painter has also delved into kinetic scenes in this style, all carrying the intimacy and unsteadiness of memory.
German artist Tobias Kroeger, also known by his moniker "Tobe", made his career as a successful street artist, but in 2013 he suddenly stopped and turned his attention towards the canvas. What he created is a series of glitchy portraits inspired by his roots in graffiti and a growing concern for our addiction to technology. "Composed of data fragments and machine parts", his depiction of people is not far from the truth; a portrait of a new generation, living their lives in front of the computer screen.
One of South Korea's eminent realist painters, Kwang-Ho Lee's "Touch" series brings out the tactile qualities of exotic cacti. The desert plants blossom in oblong shapes in Lee's large-scale works, inviting viewers to examine their thorns, fluff, and smooth skin. Some coiled and others upright and phallic-looking, each plant takes on its own personality. Lee's paintings are easy to mistake for photographs at a first glance, but his stylized compositions take his work beyond straightforward documentation.
Afarin Sajedi's portraits of women are rarely pretty in the conventional sense or pleasant to look at. One might even call them deformed or strange, appearing almost alien-esque with their large heads and round eyes. Previously featured on our blog, the Iranian artist once described her work as "a little bit science fiction, a little bit realism", mainly working from her imagination to create her emotive characters.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List