Gideon Appah

Biography
Exhibitions

Gideon Appah was born in Accra, Ghana in 1987. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana in 2012. His first solo exhibition dubbed 'sensation' at the Goethe Institute in Accra a year after his BFA graduation. Since, Gideon has held exhibitions in Ghana and internationally including Turbine art fair, Johannesburg Art fair and a solo booth at 1:54 Art fair in New York in 2018.

Growing up in a large family, the works are reflective of a life characterized by strong emotional bonds, religious activities and folklore. Through nostalgic blues, deep green landscapes and charcoal, his dreamlike compositions place typical domestic interiors from 1980s and 90s Ghana against surreal landscapes.

Using thick, rough applications of acrylic upon collaged layers of appropriated posters, prints and photographs, Appah directly references his own familial histories. The posters used - advertising haircuts, barber shops and tailoring - relate to occupations of his aunts, uncles and grandparents, the overall result becoming an artistic archive of communal life in Accra. More

Solo Exhibitions
2019 "Love letters", 1997 Gallery, Accra, Ghana
2018 1:54 Art Fair, Solo booth, New York, US
2017 In Pokua's place, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Ghana
2017 Between a life and its dream (Scrawl paintings), Absa Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa (L’Atelier Merit Award winner 2015)
2013 Sensation, Goethe Institute, Accra, Ghana

Group Exhibitions (selection)
2020 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Afikaris Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2017 Orderly/Disorderly, Ghana Science Museum, Accra, Ghana
2017 Arising African Perspectives, LKB/G, Hamburg, Germany
2017 Alternative Facts, The Road Gallery, New York, USA
2016 Origins and Lineages, DF Contemporary Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2016 Kindle, Gallery2, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016 Johannesburg Art Fair, Kuenyehia Art Prize, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016 Turbine Art Fair, Gallery2, Johannesburg, South Africa
2015 Da Vinci Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2015 Barclays L’Atelier Finalists Show, Absa Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2014 Artists in Focus, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Ghana
2012 End of year Show, KNUST Museum, Kumasi, Ghana

Awards/Residencies
2017 Young Ghanaian artist, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, Ghana
2016 Barclays L’Atelier Residency, Bag Factory Studios, Johannesburg, South Africa
2015 Barclays L’Atelier Art Competition, Johannesburg, South Africa - Merit Award winner
2015 Kuenyehia Art Prize, Accra, Ghana - Top Ten Finalists
2014 Live workshop, Clay Objects, Past and Present Aesthetics, Nubuke Foundation, Ghana
2013 Young Generation Show, TV Africa, Accra, Ghana
2013 Be Bold Show, ETV Ghana, Accra, Ghana