Larry Otoo
Ghanaian artist Larry Otoo presents a new series of paintings in this exhibition that are proof of his ever-ascending curve. Holder of a Master's Degree in African Art and Comparative Literature from the prestigious "Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology" in Kumasi, Ghana, Otoo has participated in exhibitions and residencies around the world and today is considered one of the most famous painters from his country. Otoo's works have been presented in Ghana, Spain, and in prestigious institutions in the United States, Denmark, The Netherlands, Ivory Coast, Italy, Canada and Germany, and some can be found in public collections as far away as Japan.
This does not disturb the life or the creativity of the artist, who traces his path with constants, revealing an infinity of variables. As Otoo himself explains, “All paintings have three things in common. First, they are dedicated to the human being; second, I only use tones derived from a limited number of primary colours that sometimes break down into secondary colours. This is my specialty as a painter. Third, they are all paintings of an unusual style.” From the market scenes he is famous for, to the most unusual portraits of women, Otoo’s work comes from an alchemy that only its author understands.
One of the characteristics of Larry Otoo is that he has chosen to only work with the three primary colors: red, yellow and blue, which he uses most often in their pure state, without nuances or mixtures. This gives an obvious visual power to Otoo's works that easily identifies him as the author. We could expect some form of fatigue, from the systematic impact of pure colour, but the artist's talent makes it possible to ensure that this is not the case and that he does not tire of discovering the different forms and combinations that his works take in a multitude of variants.
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