Of the works that oscillated between figuration and abstraction, Wiz Kudowor’s three canvases, Wrapped Figurations IV, Bodyscape 11b, and Vanity Fair, were perhaps the most provocative. Voluptuous forms writhed under richly patterned textiles, creating a dizzying, ambiguous visual landscape that engulfed the entire picture plane. Equally entrancing were the works of Kofi Agorsor, whose painterly technique curiously encompassed suggestions of figures, fractured patterns, and a surface layer that appeared to have dripped and run down the canvas. The pure abstraction of Ishmael Norman’s semi-geometric compositions offered contemplative respite from the bustle of the majority of the works in Rendezvous. His “Purple Haze” constituted a violet dreamscape of line and color, while “Concentric Circles…” offered a warmer palette but a less defined composition, with the shadows of lost forms suggested beneath a misty top layer of paint.
Rendezvous was, unusually for Nubuke, a selling exhibition, and several of the works on show were sold during its run. Money raised from such sales is ploughed straight back into the Foundation so that it can continue to develop its program. Exhibiting a selection of works from some of Ghana’s leading contemporary artists, Rendezvous offered visitors an insight into the diverse visual languages and concerns emerging from the country’s burgeoning cultural scene. Furthermore, it firmly established the Nubuke Foundation as a critical contemporary platform for creative discourse and display.
- Kate Cowtcher