Art Week Miami, Part 1: an extremelyyy dope surprise.
As I continue trying to unpack the sheer + utter Gloriousness that was my first Art Basel/Art Week Miami last week, I’m just gonna post in 2 parts because I reallyy wanna show y’all something!! haha.
This past summer, I had the chance to participate in a portrait session for visual artist Conrad Egyir, extended by my dear friend + collaborator, Jeremiah Ojo of Creative Milieu Consulting. Conrad is an incredible creator of paintings that tell profound narratives of African Folklore and themes from throughout the African diaspora, specifically drawing from his homeland of Accra, Ghana, and his current home of the United States. Conrad is based in Detroit, Michigan (ayyeee!) and he is quickly establishing a strong presence in major U.S. art hubs and globally. It was such a memorable experience to get to know him and participate in this process.
A couple weeks before Miami Art Week, I learned that the piece was completed!! And, that it might actually be shown at Thee Art Basel South Beach 2019!! On Friday, I got to see this image:
The honey that drops into my wealth (Oyinkansola), 2019
Oil, acrylic, glitter, crystal buttons and mounted wood on canvas
60 x 48 inches / 152.4 x 121.9 cm
Ahhh! I’m just soo overwhelmed by this! This definitely looks just like me! I actually didn’t get to see the painting when I got to Basel on Saturday, because the Galleries cycle periodically throughout the week (something else I learned – as pieces sell/audiences change, the installations are refreshed to continue showcasing a cohesive exhibit…or something like that). So, I’m actually not sure where this piece is currently, but it’s very cool that this was up during the more “exclusive” days of the fair, lol. It would definitely be amazing to view it in person sometime – especially with the glitter, textures, & 3D elements this contains. Ahh! It’s so interesting to have my likeness represented this way. I’m trying to figure out how my shyness feels about this. What if someone buys it?! What if someone already did?!! It’s a good thing I didn’t see it in person, I probably would have passed out from it all.
About the piece
I actually haven’t had the chance to catch up with Conrad yet, so I’m looking forward to updating this with more (accurate) details. What I can see though, is that similarly to Conrad’s previous works, it contains traditional Asante (Ashanti) Ghanaian symbols, with a Twi phrase emblazoned in script at the top.
The subject itself (me!) centers around his interpretation of my middle name, Oyinkansola (God gave me honey and wealth), which I think we discussed during the portrait session. He selected such a sweet pose, and the honey color of the eyes seems symbolic of this. The golden artifacts and text color suggest the concept of wealth. I absolutely lovveee this! As you may have gathered, the name of this blahggg is derived from this idea, and I’ll probably share a couple journals about what Yoruba names and culture mean to me. I love the West African unity of the piece (as you know I’m an honorary Ghana Ghel. LOL)
This is really so beautiful. I love the depth of the cultural identity elements, the modern, clean color scheme, and the general depiction of a Black African woman just, being. I love Conrad’s consistent use of sparkling natural hair and multiple textures. He got so many details of my appearance down, from my eternally shiny forehead to my glasses dents on the side of my nose, lol! This is so dope to see.
About the artist
Please, enrich your day by checking out more of Conrad’s incredible work at www.conradegyir.com. What’s amazing to me is that as a 2018 MFA graduate of the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art (I used to lovveee visiting as a child!), he’s literally just getting started! Congratulations to him for the extraordinary success he’s having, including showing these beautiful pieces on such celebrated platforms!! I’m profoundly thankful for the opportunity to have been included in this.
His gallery profile can also be found at https://jessicasilvermangallery.com/conrad-egyir/selected-works/. Also, shoutout to the Art Entrepreneur Extraordinaire Jeremiah, who is such a wonderful resource on literally everything you can think of related to Arts + Culture. Check him out on IG, @howtallareyou! Thanks so much Jeremiah for the opportunity!!