From October 16 to February 13, 2022, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen presents the first comprehensive exhibition in Germany devoted to the work of Ghanaian-born painter and author Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
Her main subject is the human, which she paints in oil, charcoal and pastel pencil. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye represents women and men, who are often resting, dreaming, moving, watching or cooperating with a other partner.
In any case, these are not real individuals, but rather composite figures whose appearances come from different sources.
Sammlung Lonti Ebers
© Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye depicts only black individuals, unexpectedly revealing their lack of far-reaching significance in the representations of art history, which she has seriously investigated. As for K20’s collection, her photographs, which she intentionally stages and discourses, will provoke reflection on the capacity of painting, as well as good female and male examples, to address pressing issues of representation, racism and variety.
Jazz is also a deep source of inspiration that influences her work. She has created a playlist accessible via Spotify, featuring favorites by musicians such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Nina Simone and Bill Evans. You can access it via the QR code .
The exhibition, which will be on view in the Henkel Galerie at K20, was conceived by Tate Britain in collaboration with Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, and MUDAM Luxembourg.
