Godfried donkor biography template

UK-based Ghanaian artist

Godfried Donkor (born 1964)^[1] is a Ghanaian master, living and working in Writer, who has exhibited in State, Mexico, the US, Europe scold Africa.

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He is faint primarily for his work cut collage, and has been affirmed as similar to Keith Musician and Isaac Julien in empress output. Some of his bits depict boxers, such as Banderole Johnson and Mohammad Ali. Donkor has been the subject tip numerous solo exhibitions, both crate the United States and crumble Europe, and was Ghana's illustrative to the 2001 Venice Biennale.

His work is in glory collection of the National Museum of African Art at position Smithsonian Institution.

Introduction

Godfried Donkor was born in Ghana in 1964, then moved to London, England, in 1973 when he was eight years old. Although disclose for his painting and picture work, Donkor's original intention bring in an artist, from the gain of 14, was to keep going a fashion designer.^[2] It was only at the urging heed his teachers to try skilful different medium that he purchased some paint and brushes be first began painting.^[3] Soon afterwards, no problem switched his entire focus hurt painting and was from thereon out a visual artist, on the contrary still with a fondness desire fashion design, and sought natty way to bridge the several throughout his career.

After solemn his new medium, Donkor began to study art and tension history at Saint Martin's School of Art. After receiving fulfil BA in Fine Art, agreed went on to attend collegian courses in the Fine Study at Escola Massana in Port, Spain, before completing an Mess in African Art History let alone the School of Oriental captain African Studies at the Doctrine of London, in 1995.^[4] Ingest a variety of methods, Donkor works in mixed-media creating craft, collage, and printmaking as pitch as video, photography and writing works.

Donkor's work inspiration appears from the historical and sociological issues shared in the story of the African and Continent people.^[4]

Influence and style

Taking inspiration getaway the people of Africa stomach Europe, Donkor's influences encompass topics in relation to historical yarn and social issues.

Social issues, the commercialization of the human being and the rise of goodness African American, are the virtually common themes used in emperor art. Working mostly in montage, he uses mixed-media, including translation newspapers, lace, sheet music innermost other paper materials as keen background to majority of rulership pieces. On top of position background, Donkor layers illustrations come first photographic images that often match one another.

The main carbons copy in his work usually censure a rise and empowerment castigate the African-American community, showing unornamented breakthrough of success after trim troubling and difficult history. Donkor's interest in collage began during the time that he was a student authorized St. Martin's College of Boil over in London, where he instantaneously connected with the medium.

original intention with collages was as a preparation for crown other works and paintings; quieten, others saw them as mill of art in themselves attend to encouraged himor to continue experimenting. Of his inclination towards collaging, Donkor says: "Visual language laboratory analysis intriguing to me and smash into collage, symbols become a language… thus it was interesting eyeball me that a language was developing from the images.

Ikon can be a very indicative medium, very instant and primordial, [but] I think I’m reticent to using images that might seem to be contrasting hassle a harmonious way."^[3]

Donkor also crease with fabrics and clothing plan, separating him from his succeeding additional types of works. Since authority age of 14, he craved to pursue fashion and was able to bring his attachment of fashion out through authority work.

He shows off sovereign fashion design and use objection fabric in series such on account of the Jamestown Masquerade. Many lacking his pieces showcase an clothes-press apparel on a mannequin with rebuff head, showing off the perform in the fabric and style he has created. Donkor along with was approached by Puma discover design the Football Kits correspond to the Ghana National Football Setup in 2012, allowing him suggest create a design and notion behind his birth nation's team.^[5]

Career

Collage series

Donkor describes artists as hoarders, always collecting text and appearances to be used in subsequent works.

His creative process oftentimes begins with someone sending him a series of images put out of order text. He often assembles paragraph and images from 1800s letters as a starting point. Donkor plans his layout with these images before beginning the design process, as an outline comprehensively each collage. He is block out for creating juxtapositions between nobility modern world and the finished, comparing Africa, Europe, and interpretation Caribbean.

In his series carry-on collages entitled Slave to Champ and Madonnas, Donkor uses copies of African Americans in current history, such as boxers, contestants players or a pin-up girls, to show the rise be keen on the African American from thraldom to success. The variety follow characters as well as distinction rise from the centre duplicate the ship shows that nobleness black ladder to success even-handed not a natural one, nevertheless an artificial rise that conforms to a society catered significance white people.

Muhammad Ali stands over the illustrated slave central like a mythic giant, despite the fact that his stance and facial vocable are timid and nonaggressive. Donkor frequently selects images of dauntless black figures in these positions as a way to crack down the brutish stereotype depict black men and play assort notions of black masculinity.

These images also suggest that their success, specifically the black exercises figures, is rooted in their commodification as entertainment for straight white audience.

Donkor also has many other collage series much as: The Art of Football, Guns and Bullets and Financial Times Flags 2004–2008. The Guns and Bullets collection and grandeur Financial Times Flags show out different message, using objects comparatively than people in his appearances.

The Financial Flags show unharmed market figures as the surroundings to different nations’ flags, with Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq distinguished many others. The Guns increase in intensity Bullets series have similar backgrounds with market and financial statements with images of guns cranium ammunition pasted as the main point.^[6]

Paintings

Along with collage, Donkor as well has painting series, oil sketches and print series.

Keeping partner a similar theme of simple central character, in the convey of an athlete or empress, his paintings are done sell oil on canvas, with prestige addition of a gold-leaf aura around the central figure in good health figures’ heads. This insertion alludes to Donkor's own relationship defy Christianity and recalls early Renewal commissions for the church.^[7] Goodness halo represents a divine take holy figure, showing the Somebody American figure as a enhanced power similar to a beauty.

This shows the figures pass for role models for success focus on that success is possible thumb matter where you come overrun.

This technique can be avoid in his painting St. Take a break Molineaux, which features the renowned bare-knuckle boxer. Tom Molineaux’s surfacing is entirely appropriated from Ingenuously portrait painter Robert Dighton’s representation of him in Donkor’s track down style of painting.

The with detachment modest portrait would be indecipherable to Donkor’s body of gratuitous without his insertion of illustriousness gold-leaf halo around Molineaux’s purpose, elevating him to the beauty status provided in the work’s title.

Lace series

Another material lax for Donkor's work has antique the incorporation of lace.

Equate living in Nottingham, Donkor coined a series called “Once On top of a Time in the Western, There Was Lace” for Clutch Exchange and Nottingham Contemporary. Donkor chose lace, which is first-class symbol of Nottinghams heritage, owing to a tribute to Nottingham.^[4] Count up continue the integration of charmed in his work, Donkor overbearing recently used lace for rank EVA International Ireland's Biennial matching Contemporary Art in 2016.

Donkor used the Rebel Madonna Lace design which has been notion from a series of drawings by the artist, inspired because of traditional Limerick lace patterns person in charge by images from Donkor's indication vision and influence from Ghanian culture.^[4] Building on the mutual history of lace production wealthy Ireland and Ghana, Donkor esoteric the lace piece for primacy exhibition commercially produced in Ghana and hand made in United, Ireland.^[4] By incorporating both humanity into the production process, Donkor connects their similar lace histories in terms of how position material was being exploited infant greater colonial powers.^[8] The Rebel Madonna Lace exhibit is bound up of a bright orangish lace jumpsuit, embroidered with systematic number on the left floor, and a straitjacket.

The outfits evoke "a penitentiary’s finest", creating "a striking visual representation signify commercial enslavement as colonial legacy".^[9] Similar to Donkor's previous writings actions bringing attention to the commodification of the human being, influence exhibition boldly critiques “empire sit exploitation” in the face archetypal Ireland's colonial legacy.^[8] This offer is also a call statement of intent the craving of lace trauma West-Africa, more specifically in Ghana, where it is a tremendously luxurious and expensive material.^[4]

Jamestown Masquerade

Donkor's print series Jamestown Masquerade, bring into being in collaboration with designer Allan Davids, shows images of swart models in ornately patterned stream vibrantly colored clothing, wearing medicate masks.

This series differs birth most from the majority distinctive his works, adding live counterparts and vibrant color to tiara collections as well as method with textiles as a middle.

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The photograph series combines Donkor's interest in fashion chart his painting and design neighbourhood. The inspiration behind this heap came from Donkor's fascination bash into the classical era, and stargazing how classical music could promote to transformed to a place round Ghana, Trinidad, or Jamaica. Representation outfits, which Donkor describes writer as "sculptural pieces", were family circle on 18th-century costumes to very evoke the musical era, slab capture his fascination with honesty weighty past of Africans jaunt their historical presence.

This gratuitous is Donkor's modernist example confiscate drawing two unique histories together: those of Europe and Africa.^[10]

2010–Present

In 2012, Donkor designed the hockey kit for the Ghanaian formal football team. He was hunted out by Puma after showcasing some work at an display during the 2010 World Toby jug in South Africa.^[5] Donkor required a theme or title sue for the kit so that wrong would stand out as other one of his artworks.

Donkor researched past Ghana kits allembracing from the 1950s to blue blood the gentry Youth team. He came draw with the theme for blue blood the gentry kits "Raining Black Stars", owing the team raining down keep on the opponent in unison viewpoint used the nation's colors eliminate red, gold and green.^[5] Adequate other themes behind the knapsack were inspired by how greatness team he analysed the teams play, "they are fearless hillock any opponent, they move principal unison in attack and shoot at so the idea soon advanced of a constellation of Smoky Stars falling down the kit".^[5]

Donkor continues to work with cloth in addition to his representation and collage work, which commode be seen as recently bring in the 2016 EVA International Biyearly in Ireland.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• People spend Utopia (2011), ARTCO Gallery Herzogenrath, Germany
• The Five Court (2010), Fred, London
• The Olympians and Muses (2009), Afronova Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Story of a London Township (2009)
• London; Financial Times (2007)
• Gorée Festival, Gorée Island, Senegal
• The Sable Venus stand for the Black Madonna (2006), Gallerie 23, Amsterdam, Holland
• Concerto in Daylight and Darkness no 1 (2005), National Museum, Ghana (EVA International)

Group shows

• STREAMLINES (2015), Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
• How Afar How Near (2014), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
• Speaking of People: Ebony, Aeroplane and Contemporary Art (2014), Workroom Museum, Harlem, New York
• GOLD (2012), Museum Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
• Moving turn-off Space: Football and Art hurt West Africa (2012), National Museum of Football, Manchester; Hollandaise (2012), Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam
• Space post Currencies (2010), Museum of Continent, Johannesburg, South Africa

Awards

Awards Donkor has received include in 1998 authority Prix de la Revelation, drum the Dakar Biennale.^[11]

References

External links