Amoako Boafo: what could possibly go wrong, if we tell it like it is
This book was published on the occasion of Amoako Boafo: what could possibly go wrong, if we tell it like it is, a two-part exhibition at Gagosian, 980 Madison Avenue, New York, and dot.ateliers, Accra, an art space and residency established by the artist in Ghana in 2022. The exhibition showcased Boafo’s striking large-scale portraits of his friends, those he admires, and himself, which he creates using both a brush and his fingertips. With the densely worked qualities of the subjects’ skin and attire set against backgrounds composed of blocks of color, Boafo’s paintings are bold and vital celebrations of the presence and multivalence of Black identity. This fully illustrated catalogue includes pamphlets containing poems by aja monet and Poetra Asantewa that were written in response to Boafo’s work, as well as a new essay by writer DK Nnuro, whose debut novel, What Napoleon Could Not Do (2023), was included on Barack Obama’s 2023 Summer Reading List and was shortlisted for the New American Voices Award.
Publisher: Gagosian
Publication date: 2024
Contributors: Poetra Asantewa, aja monet, DK Nnuro
Designer: Graphic Thought Facility, London
Printer: Pureprint Group, Uckfield, England
Format: Hardcover with two inserts
Dimensions: 11 3/4 × 11 inches (29.8 × 27.9 cm)
Pages: 76, Asantewa pamphlet: 12, monet pamphlet: 12
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-951449-61-2
