COMPLEX JOURNEY BY EUGENE OFORI AGYEI | CURATED BY REBECCA M. NAGY, PhD
Eugene Ofori Agyei navigates international boundaries with the energy and easy grace of an accomplished athlete or dancer. But through works such as Complex Journey, he shows us that his migration from Ghana to the United States has not been devoid of psychological and emotional trials. Back home in Ghana he is known by his ethnic group, Akan. On the African continent he is seen as Ghanaian. And in America he is seen as a Black man and a foreigner. Agyei continues to define and meld his various personal and artistic identities. Share his journey through space and time as you navigate this immersive Kudos Shed installation.
Eugene Ofori Agyei
Complex Journey
Kudos Shed
2024
As an undergraduate in the ceramics program at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana, Agyei gained technical mastery of his chosen medium. He also absorbed the prevailing ethos of the renowned KNUST art school, a program founded on a non-hierarchical and collaborative relationship between faculty and students in their research, art production, art criticism and curation; social practice that respects and engages with traditional makers; and strong connections with international artists and institutions.
Eugene Ofori Agyei
Complex Journey (Details)
Kudos Shed
2024
In his ceramic works, Agyei integrates the coil method used by Ghanaian women potters through the centuries with slab built and pinching techniques. He creates abstract, evocative assemblages of clay, fabric, wood, paint and found objects to explore his hybrid identities. Agyei collaborates with his mother to source traditional African batik fabrics in Kumasi markets and is fascinated with the fact that these textiles are as boundary-crossing as his own life and practice, incorporating influences and production methods from Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Eugene Ofori Agyei
Complex Journey (Details)
Kudos Shed
2024
After graduating from KNUST, Agyei completed his MFA at the University of Florida, where he benefited from access to materials, facilities, and studio space not available in Ghana as well as an expanded network of mentors. His practice has thrived in the US, garnering numerous awards and exhibitions across Florida as well as in Maine, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Internationally his work has been exhibited in Turkey and recently attracted the attention of German art collector Franz, Duke of Bavaria, who acquired three of Agyei’s works and has committed to place them in museums. Currently Agyei is the Robert Chapman Turner Teaching Fellow at the New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University.
Rebecca Martin Nagy, PhD
Director Emerita, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida.
Visitors