Atta KwamiMoney Can't Buy It, 2019
With a career spanning 40 years, Atta Kwami’s practice brought together painting, architecture, sculpture, and education. Born in Accra, Ghana he trained and taught for 20 years at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Kwami lived primarily in Kumasi and later in Loughborough, UK, keeping a studio in both cities and drawing inspiration for his paintings from both global and local art histories and traditions. His compositions of geometric strips, stripes and grids particularly connect to Northern Ghanaian wall and house painting, street vendor kiosks, commercial sign painting, woven textiles, Ghanaian music, and jazz.
The abstracted Kiosk structure Money Can’t Buy It (2019) constructed of found wood and conceived of as expanded three-dimensional paintings. The architectural scale work makes reference to the improvised vernacular of Ghanaian street painting. Multiple elements of Kwami's practice come together in this kiosk, as inside, a selection of his photographs and prints are displayed.
Exhibition history:
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, 2025
Goodman Gallery, London, 2024
MPND Projects, Loughborough, UK, 2019
