Gideon Appah, Night Watcher, 2020, 243 cm x 183 cm, Oils, Acrylics on Canvas, Photography by Nii Odzenma © Gideon Appah, Courtesy of Gallery 1957 and the artist Gideon Appah Details:b. 1987, Accra, Ghana Read More Gideon Appah draws on childhood memories and dreams, as well as West African landscapes and popular culture for his dazzling, bold, and jewel-toned paintings.As a child, Appah’s first medium was charcoal, which his grandmother used to cook meals at home. His early works are an ode to his hometown of Accra, the capital of Ghana, and incorporate images associated with daily life such as lottery numbers and other symbols present in the social and economic fabric of the city. Appah’s work investigates his childhood as well as local mythologies, ethereal landscapes, rivers, domestic interiors, and reoccurring figures both imagined and known, such as his grandmother and brother.The artist often paints in tones of royal blue, crimson, dark orange, and white over found and collaged posters, prints, photographs, and film stills, many of these centering on occupations his family members have held within their community such as barber and tailor shops. Mixing photographic images with paint, Appah employs a process of priming the canvas and sketching the composition before transferring prints from paper onto the canvas using a mixture of glue and water. After the canvas dries, he carves out the images, making them visible before applying paint. Most recently, the artist has utilized oil paint, working in a more flattened perspective and using a rich palette to condense impasto brushstrokes. Appah creates dream-like worlds through a fauvist lens, examining personal and homeland histories such as Ghanaian post-colonial cinema, leisure culture, and nightlife, using newspaper clippings from the 1950s through the 80s as source material. He is influenced by portraiture artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Barkley L. Hendricks, Charles White, as well as American painters Bob Thompson and Joseph Yoakum.Born in Accra, Ghana in 1987, Gideon Appah received his Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana in 2012. After graduating with a BFA in Painting, Appah held his first exhibition in Ghana, including his first solo exhibition at the Goethe Institute in Accra in 2013. Other important exhibitions of his work include Gideon Appah: Forgotten, Nudes, Landscapes, Institute for Contemporary Art at University of Commonwealth Virginia, Richmond (2022); Blue Boys Blues, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York (2020); Orderly Disorderly, Ghana Science Museum, Accra (2017); Clay Objects (Past and Present Aesthetics), Nubuke Foundation, Accra (2013); and End of Year Exhibition, K.N.U.S.T Museum, Kumasi, Ghana (2012). In 2015, he was chosen as one of the top ten finalists for the Kuenyehia Art Prize for Contemporary Ghanaian Arts. That same year he became the first international artist to win the 1st Merit Prize Award at the Barclays L’Atelier Art Competition, which was held in Johannesburg. This awarded him a three-month artist residency at the Bag Factory Studios (2016) and a solo show at the Absa Gallery (2017), both in Johannesburg, South Africa. His work is held in public collections worldwide including Absa Museum, Johannesburg; Musée d'Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden, Marrakesh, Morocco; and Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. Read More Gideon Appah, Another Place, 2020, Oils and Acrylics on Canvas 240 cm x 300 cm © Gideon Appah, courtesy Mitchell-Innes and Nash and the artist Gideon Appah, Melody, 2020, Acrylics, oils on canvas 243 cm x 183 cm © Gideon Appah, courtesy Mitchell-Innes and Nash and the artist Gideon Appah, Remember Our Stars, 2020, Oils and Acrylics on Canvas, 200 cm x 200 cm © Gideon Appah, courtesy Mitchell-Innes and Nash and the artist Gideon Appah, Strangers on a white horse, 2020, 240 cm x 300 cm, Oils, Acrylics on Canvas, Photography by Nii Odzenma © Gideon Appah, Courtesy of Gallery 1957 and the artist Exhibitions View All On View Gideon Appah The Play of Thought Mar 21 – Apr 27, 2024 Seoul Past Gideon Appah How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights Mar 15 – Apr 15, 2023 London Journal View All Pace Live Watch James Massiah and Yen-Ching Lin's "Night Vision" Jun 14, 2023 Films Explore "How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights" with Gideon Appah and Ekow Eshun Apr 12, 2023 Films Gideon Appah’s Personal Mythology Oct 03, 2022 News Gideon Appah Joins Pace Gallery Sep 15, 2022 One-Artist Exhibitions Group Exhibitions Public Collections Books and Catalogues Periodicals Close One-Artist Exhibitions 01-Appah-Gideon-one-artist DatesBorn: 1987, GhanaLives and works in Accra, GhanaEducation2012 Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana2024Gideon Appah: The Play of Thought, Pace Gallery, Seoul, March 21–April 27, 2024. (Digital catalogue)2023Gideon Appah: How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights, Pace Gallery, London, March 15–April 15, 2023.2022Gideon Appah: More Luck, Mitchell Innes and Nash, New York, September 8–October 15, 2022.Gideon Appah: Forgotten Nudes, Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, February 11–June 19, 2022.2020Blue Boys Blues, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York, November 5–December 5, 2020.2019Love Letters, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana, June 29-August 15, 2019. (Catalogue)2018Memoirs Through Pokua's Window, 1-54 ArtFair, New York, May 17-23, 2018.2017Between a life and its dream, ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2017.In Pokua's Place, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Ghana, December 9, 2017-May 2, 2018.2013Sensation, Goethe Institute, Accra, Ghana, 2013. Group Exhibitions Gideon Appah Group Exhibitions 2023Accra! The Rise of a Global Art Community, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, October 6, 2023–January 28, 2024.2022Unlimited, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana, November 10–December 15, 2022.A Nubian Landscape, part of 23rd International Exhibition at Triennale di Milano, Milan, July 15–December 11, 2022.2021West African Renaissance, Gallery 1957, in collaboration with Christie’s, Dubai, November 14–December 14, 2021.The Interior, Venus Over Manhattan, New York, July 1–July 31, 2021.Sites of Memory, UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, June 25–July 31, 2021.South Facing South (Ghanaman x Quisqeya), Gallery 1957, London, January 7–March 14, 2021.2019Fraccionar, Estancia FEMSA-Casa Estudio Luis Barragán, Mexico City, Mexico, February 2–May 5, 2019. (Catalogue)2017Orderly/Disorderly, Ghana Science Museum, Accra, Ghana, June 30–September 1, 2017.African Perspectives, Lars Kristian Bode Projects, Berlin, Germany, opened May 5, 2017.2016Origins and Lineages, DF Contemporary Gallery, Capetown, South Africa, 2016.Kindle, Gallery2, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2016.2015Barclays L’atelier Finalists Show, Absa Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, July 15, 2015.2014Artists in Focus, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Ghana, 2014.2012End of Year Show, KNUST Museum, Kumasi, Ghana, 2012. Public Collections Gideon Appah Public Collections Absa Museum, Johannesburg, South AfricaAmorepacific Museum of Art, SeoulKistefos Museum, Jevnaker, NorwayMusée d'Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden, Marrakesh, MoroccoRoyal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada Books and Catalogues Gideon Appah Bibliography: Books 2024Gideon Appah: The Play of Thought (digital exhibition catalogue). New York: Pace Publishing, 2024.2022Gideon Appah: Forgotten, Nudes, Landscapes (exhibition catalogue). Texts by Amber Esseiva and Dominic Willsdon. Richmond: Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, 2022.2021Morrill, Rebecca and Simon Hunegs, eds. African Artists: from 1882 to Now. London and New York: Phaidon, 2021.Love Letters (exhibition catalogue). Interview with the artist by Danny Dunson. Text by Katherine Finerty. Accra, Ghana: Gallery 1957, 2021.2019Fraccionar (exhibition catalogue). Curated by Estrellita B. Brodsky. Mexico City, Mexico: Estancia FEMSA-Casa Estudio Luis Barragán, 2019. Periodicals Gideon Appah Bibliography: Periodicals 2023Appah, Gideon. “In the Studio with Gideon Appah” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). Interview with Sofia Hallström. Émergent Magazine, 7 April 2023. https://www.emergentmag.com/interviews/gideon-appahAppah, Gideon. “Gideon Appah” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). Interview with Florr Magazine. Florr Magazine, 20 April 2023. https://www.floorrmagazine.com/issue-30/gideon-appahBlythe, Finn. “Gideon Appah, the Painter Melding Fantasy and Ghana’s Postcolonial Reality” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). AnOther, 15 March 2023. https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/14745/gideon-appah-pace-gallery-how-to-say-sorry-in-a-thousand-lightsEmily, Olivia. “Art Exhibitions in London to Check Out in 2023.” Country & Town House, 24 February 2023. https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/best-art-exhibitions-in-london/Mitchell, Rory. “Gideon Appah Captures Sensations of Ghana at Pace Debut” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). Ocula, 13 March 2023. https://ocula.com/advisory/perspectives/gideon-appah-pace-gallery-debut/Scott, Chadd. “The Continent Comes To New York For 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.” Forbes, 7 May 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2023/05/07/the-continent-comes-to-new-york-for-1-54-contemporary-african-art-fair/Smith, Stephen. “New York, London, Paris, Accra: inside the cultural week bringing the art world to Ghana.” The Art Newspaper, 22 September 2023. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/09/22/new-york-london-paris-accra-inside-the-cultural-week-bringing-the-art-world-to-ghana.Westall, Mark. “Gideon Appah: How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). FAD Magazine, 7 March 2023. https://fadmagazine.com/2023/03/07/gideon-appah-how-to-say-sorry-in-a-thousand-lights/Yerebakan, Osman Can. “Studio Visit: Gideon Appah by Osman Can Yerebakan” (Pace Gallery exhibition review). BOMB Magazine, 14 August 2023. https://bombmagazine.org/articles/studio-visit-gideon-appah/2022Appah, Gideon. "Folkloric African Art at the 23rd Triennale Milano International Exhibition with Gideon Appah." Interview with Ally Ferraro & Guilherme Ferrari. French Fries Mag, 21 July 2022. https://frenchfries-mag.com/interview/2022/7/21/folkloric-african-art-at-the-23rd-triennale-milano-international-exhibition-with-gideon-appahAppah, Gideon. "Ghanaian Painter Gideon Appah goes on a journey of rediscovery" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition preview). Interview with Something Curated. Something Curated, 8 February 2022. https://somethingcurated.com/2022/02/08/interview-ghanaian-painter-gideon-appah-goes-on-a-journey-of-rediscovery/“Art Industry News: The Latest Art Project of RM, Star of K-Pop’s Hottest Band? Saving a Historic Silk Bridal Gown + Other Stories.” Artnet News, 16 September 2022. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-industry-news-rm-other-stories-2-2176940"The Best Shows to See in the US This June" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Frieze, 27 May 2022. https://www.frieze.com/article/best-shows-see-us-june-2022Ciro Marco. "The Unknown, The Mystery and the Innovation in the International Pavilions of the XXII International Exhibition of Milan." Elle Decor, 14 April 2022. https://www.elledecor.com/it/design/a40596682/partecipazioni-internazionali-unknown-unknowns-xxiii-triennale-dimilano/Escalante-De Mattei, Shanti. “Ghanaian Painter Gideon Appah Joins Pace Gallery.” ARTnews, 15 September 2022. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/giddeon-appah-joins-pace-gallery-1234639478/"Gideon Appah: Forgotten, Nudes, Landscapes" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Art Plugged, 2 March 2022. https://artplugged.co.uk/gideon-appah-forgotten-nudes-landscapes/Griset, Rich. "What Dreams May Come" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Style Weekly, 25 May 2022. https://m.styleweekly.com/richmond/what-dreams-may-come/Content?oid=18805888Harrison, Don. "The Road to Accra" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition preview). Richmond Magazine, 18 January 2022. https://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/galleries/the-road-to-accra/Moloi, Nkgopoleng. "Gideon Appah’s Forgotten, Nudes, Landscapes: Remembering and Remaking" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Bubblegum Club, 21 June 2022. https://bubblegumclub.co.za/art/gideon-appah-folding-time-through-nudes-landscapes-and-the-forgotten/Ndukwu, Joseph Omoh. "Gideon Appah’s Forgotten, Nudes, Landscapes: Remembering and Remaking" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Contemporaryand, 21 June 2022. https://contemporaryand.com/magazines/gideon-appahs-forgotten-nudes-landscapes-remembering-and-remaking/"Out of This World." Airmail, 23 July 2022. https://airmail.news/issues/2022-7-23/out-of-this-worldPuig, Alicia. "ICA at VCU Presents First Institutional Solo Exhibition of Ghanaian Artist Gideon Appah" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Create Magazine, 4 March 2022. https://www.createmagazine.com/blog/ghanian-artist-gideon-appah-exhibitionRega, Konstantin. "Where Inspiration Stikes" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Virginia Living, 25 March 2022. https://www.virginialiving.com/culture/where-inspiration/Takac, Balasz. "Gideon Appah explores Ghanian cultural memory" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Widewalls, 1 March 2022.https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/gideon-appah-institute-contemporary-art-vcuWu, Simon. "Gideon Appah’s Fascination with the Fragmented Body" (Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Commonwealth University exhibition review). Frieze, 12 May 2022. https://www.frieze.com/article/gideon-appah-forgotten-nudes-landscapes-2022-reviewZhang, Lisa Yan. “The Top 10 Shows in the US of 2022” (Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU exhibition review). Frieze Magazine, 16 December 2022. https://www.frieze.com/article/top-10-shows-us-20222021"GHANA’S FIRST INDEPENDENT ARTIST RESIDENCY ADDS FELLOWSHIPS, SPACE" (From ARTFORUM). Mitchell-Innes & Nash, 10 March 2021. https://www.miandn.com/news/ghanas-first-independent-artist-residency-adds-fellowships-space2020Rotinwa, Ayodeji. "Africas art market grows even amid adversity." The Art Newspaper, 17 November 2020. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/11/17/africas-art-market-grows-even-amid-adversity2018Mgbeahuruike, Ezinne. "Gideon Appah's Newest Project Is a Spiritual Rumination on His Ghanaian Upbringing." Okay Africa, 15 May 2018. https://www.okayafrica.com/gideon-appah-memiors-through-pokuas-window-gallery-1957/Hanley, William. "Meet the Ghanaian Talent Heating Up Africa's Contemporary Art Scene." Surface Magazine, 17 August 2018. https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/gideon-appah-contemporary-african-art-star/