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Artists
Artists Represented by The October Gallery
Anatsui, El
Burroughs, William S
Cohen, Ira
Foley, Fiona
Friedlander, Paul
Glover, Ablade
Gutsa, Tapfuma
Gysin, Brion
Hazoumé, Romuald
Hobson, Samantha
Tajammul
Jegede, E. Taiwo
Koraïchi, Rachid
Lalouschek, Elisabeth
Massoudy, Hassan
Lamothe, Frantz
Namok, Rosella
Okore, Nnenna

Owusu-Ankomah

Quenum, Gérard
Rimondi, Francesco
Shawa, Laila
Sinzogan, Julien
Wijdan
Wilde, Gerald
Williams, Aubrey
Xu, Huang
Xu, Zhongmin
Yoshida, Kenji
Zulu, Sandile

Owusu-Ankomah
( Ghana )

romuald hazoumeOwusu-Ankomah’s canvases employ geographically and historically diverse visual references, from Saharan rock painting and Italian Renaissance sculpture, to Ghanaian textile designs, Chinese calligraphy, New York graffiti and capoeira martial arts from Brazil.  Specially commissioned by the October Gallery to create new works to commemorate the 2007 bicentenary of the British parliamentary abolition of the slave trade, Owusu-Ankomah calls in his latest pieces for a freedom not only of the body, but of the spirit.  Paying tribute to those who have historically struggled for emancipation and consciousness in the African diaspora, he declares through his work a manifesto of love and understanding to fill the space between past and future.

A recurring theme in his large bold canvases is the adinkra system of signs originating from the Akan pre-colonial cloth printing tradition.  Each sign relates to a particular proverb or saying, and Ankomah weaves these layers of meaning into his works like poetry, juxtaposing each sign with the next to create a graphic whole.  A recurring motif is Sankofa, one of the best known adinkra signs, which literally translates as “go back and pick up what you left behind”.  Often pictured as a bird that flies or walks forward with its head facing backwards, the Sankofa proverb dictates that in order to understand where we are now and move on, we must first understand our history.  The symbol has long held resonance for liberation and independence movements across Africa and its diasporas, and as the UK turns to reflect on its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Owusu-Ankomah uses it as a reminder that one must ”remember the past in order to live consciously in the present, and have ambition for a positive future”. 
 
Owusu-Ankomah studied at Ghanatta College of Art in Kumasi, Ghana, before moving to Bremen, Germany in 1986, where he still lives and works.  His paintings have been exhibited internationally, touring Germany, the US, the UK, Senegal, South Africa and Cuba.  In 2006, he was invited to create a work for the World Cup FIFA Art Edition Project, and he has since been collaborating with designer Giorgio Armani to develop a line of clothing for the Red Campaign, raising funds for the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.



Exhibitions

From Courage to Freedom
Angaza Afrika - African Art Now

'Rising' Owusu-Ankomah
'Rising'
'Free' Owusu-Ankomah
'Free'
'Future' Owusu-Ankomah
'Future'
Owusu-Ankomah, Movement N° 41 (The Game), 2008
'Movement N° 41 (The Game)'


Owusu-Ankomah

Individual Shows
1976    YMCA Hall, Accra, Ghana
1977    Art Centre, Accra, Ghana
1981   Art Centre, Accra, Ghana
1987   Villa Ichon, Breman
    Galerie Grünspan, Ottersberg
1988   Galerie im Forum, Bomltz
    Galerie Roche, Bremen
1989   Von Sharpville bis Soweto, Überseemuseum, Bremen
1991   Galerie Steinbrecher , Bremen
    Kunstverein Wilgrad, Schwerin
1992   Galerie Wildeshausen, Wildeshausen
    Galerie la trastienda del arte, Madrid, Spain
1993   BAG, Cologne
    Savannah Gallery, London, GB
    Galerie im Hinterhaus, Wiesbaden
1994   Galerie Peter Herrman, Stuttgart
    Galerie Apex, Göttingen
    Kunstverein Salzgitter
1995   Hochschule St. Gallen, Switzerland
    Akademie Loccum Galerie Kühn, Berlin
1996   Tanz auf dem Vulkan, Galerie Steinbrecher, Bremen
    Galerei Kühn, Lilienthal
1997   Kusum II, Galerie Steinbrecher, Bremen
    Klappe - die zweite, Galerie Peter Herrmann, Stuttgart
1997   Root Signs, Galerie Jörg Heitcsh, Munich
1998   Galerie Arsenal, Bialystok, Poland
1999   Kronacher Kunstverein, Skoto Gallery, New York, USA
2002   Movements, Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth
    Movements, Galerie Kühn, Lilienthal
2003   Artficio, Gran Canaria, Spain
    Écart, Osnabrück
    Paintings, Galerie Petter Herrmann, Berlin
    Owusu Ankomah - Jörg Heitsch Galerie, Munich
2004   Galerie Walu, Zurich
    Heroes, Sages and Saints, Ghana National Museim, Accra
    Human Nature, Filmuseum, Franfurt, Germany
    Owusu-Ankomah: Neue Arbeiten/ Malerei - Galerie Peter Herrmann, Berlin
2005   Owusu Ankomah - Jörg Heitsch Galerie, Munich
2006   Owusu Ankomah Paintings - 7. AFRIKA FESTIVAL Potsdam, Potsdam
    Future Track - Gemälde 1990 – 2005 - ARTCO Galerie GmbH, Herzogenrath 
2007   Future Track - Skoto Gallery, New York City, NY
2008   Stepping Out - Malerei - ARTCO Galerie GmbH, Herzogenrath 

 
Group Exhibitions
1981    Group Show of Ghanaian Painters, Oakland, USA
1985    Artisits for Human Rights, Überseemuseum, Bremen
1986   We Live here, El Patio, Bremen
1987   Exhibition of the BKK (Art Association) Bremen,
    Weserburg Bremen
    Paintings 87, El Patio Bremen
1988   Bremer Förderpresausstellung für blidende Kunst,
    Weserburg Bremen
1991   Bremen Art Show, BBK Bremen
    Artists of Bremen, Galerie Roche, Bremen
1993   Art Multiple, Düsseldorf
1994   Sixteen paintings and prints, London GB
    Art in Landtag, Mainz
1995   The Right to Hope, Johannesburg, South Africa
    Absolute Ghana, Accra Contemporary Art ACA,
    Accra, Ghana
    African Art of our Time, Tokyo, Japan
1996   Bienale Dakar, Senegal
    Africana, Sala 1, Rome, Italy
    Dance on the Volcano, Galerie Steinbrecher, Bremen
    African-European Inpiration, Alsdorf
1997   Biennale Havana, Cuba
    Polarisation, Dokoupil/Dahn/Owusu-Ankomah
    Galerie Jörg Heitsch, Munich
    Transla Cia 1997, B.W.A. Galerie Pytrow Tryb, Poland
    Exhibition of the Fourth International Conference of Visual Arts, Vancouver, Canada
1998   Body and Soul, Staatsgalerie Heerlen, Netherlands
    Aids Worlds, Les Mondes du Sida, Genf, Zug, Bellinzona, Zurich, Switzerland
1999   From Skarabäus to New Beetle, Kuntsverein Bad Salzdetfurth Translacje 1999, Pjotrkow Tryb, Poland
    Five Continents One City, International Salon of Painting, Museum of Mexico City
    Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, GB
2000   Heimatkunst, Haus der Kulteren der Welt, Berlin
    Arch, Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth
    Über-Blick - , Stuttgart
    Paradise Zero, Eventa 5 Biennale, Uppsala, Sweden
    Kunstoffer, Dialog der Kulturen, Expo 2000, Hanover
    Transafricana, Bologna, Italy
    Mission 2000, Lillle, France
2001   It flys and flys, Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth
2002   Afrika Abend - Ausstellung im Paul-Löbe-Haus des Bundestag - Galerie Peter Herrmann, Berlin
2003   Ghana Yesterday and Today, Musée Dapper, Paris, France
    Post Border Land, SPK Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Espacios Mesticos II, International Contemporary Art Meeting, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
    A Fiction of Authenticy: Contemporary Africa Abroad, Contemporary Art Museum St Louis, Missouri, USA
    Journeys And Destinations, National Museum of Frican Art, Smithsonion Insitute, Washigton D.C., USA
    Retrospektive 2003 - Galerie Peter Herrmann, Berlin
    Der Rest Der Welt -  Alexander Ochs Galleries Berlin | Beijing, Berlin .
2004   L'Afrique à venir, Kunstverein Osteebad Kühlungsborn
    Africa Remix,Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf
    Bocca della Verita, Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth
    15 Jahre Galerie Peter Herrmann - Galerie Peter Herrmann, Berlin
    Artiade - Olympics of Visual Art 2004 - Artiade 2004, Tavros
2005   Africa Remix, Hayward Gallery, London, GB
    Africa Remix, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
    Africa Remix, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
    Retour au futur, Collection Elmer, Abbaye de Neumünster, Luxembourg
    Groß und Quer - Galerie Peter Herrmann, Berlin
    Visualisierte Rhythmen Potsdam - Group Show - Waschhaus Potsdam, Potsdam
    La main dans la main - Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg
2006   Allstars - Jörg Heitsch Galerie, Munich
    L'Afrique à venir - Kunsthaus Viernheim, Viernheim
    A Fiction of Authenticity - Contemporary Africa Abroad - Blaffer Gallery - The Art Museum of the University of Houston, Houston, TX
    The Elephant - über 35 Künstler zu einem Thema - Galerie Kühn - Berlin, Berlin
    Lend Me Your Ear - Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg
    Body of Evidence (Selections from the Contemporary African Art Collection) - National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC
    Africa Remix - Contemporary Art of a Continent - Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
    7ème Biennale de l´Art Africain contemporain - Biennale de l’art africain contemporain, Dakar
2007   From Courage to Freedom, October Gallery, London.
    Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and the Diaspora - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
    Trzeba miec nosa / Have a Good Nose - Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg
    Africa Remix - Contemporary art of a continent - Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), Johannesburg
    Africa Select I - ARTCO Galerie GmbH, Herzogenrath 
2008   Angaza Africa - African Art Now, October Gallery, London
    Input - Colecção Sindika Dokolo - Museu Nacional de História Natural, Luanda
    "...einen AUGEN-Blick, bitte!" / "Please cast an eye...!" - Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg
    Dialoge - ARTCO Galerie GmbH, Herzogenrath 
2009   ... aus Leidenschaft - Kunstverein Bad Salzdetfurth e.V., Bodenburg

 
 
 

 

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