LONDON.- The following work has been acquired for Tate’s collection thanks to Tate’s Africa Acquisitions Committee Catalyst Fund supported by 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, artist Amoako Boafo and Gallery 1957:

Amoako Boafo
Blank stare 2021
Oil on paper, 1000 x 700 mm
(Gallery 1957, Booth LM1, La Mamounia, 1-54 Marrakech)

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Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo (born 1984, Accra, Ghana, where he lives and works) is renowned for his innovative approach to the shaping of Black figuration, capturing the expression, style and character of his subjects in his enticing portraits. Boafo's oil painting Blank stare was selected at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech by Gregor Muir, Director of Tate’s Collection, and Osei Bonsu, Curator, International Art, and is the latest of over 58 bodies of work by 42 artists which the Africa Acquisitions Committee has enabled Tate to acquire since 2011. Last year the Committee launched a Catalyst Fund to focus specifically on supporting contemporary artists and the rich arts ecology found across the African continent today.

Gregor Muir and Osei Bonsu said “We are delighted to bring this extraordinary painting into Tate’s collection, where it will be seen by millions of visitors in our galleries and beyond, for generations to come. Our thanks go to 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, to the artist, Amoako Boafo, and to Gallery 1957 for generously making this possible, building on the essential support of our Africa Acquisitions Committee. The Committee’s work underpins Tate’s broader commitment to modern and contemporary artists from Africa and the African diaspora, as seen in El Anatsui’s recent Hyundai Commission: Behind the Red Moon, the exhibition A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography, Meschac Gaba’s newly opened display at Tate Modern, and our major exhibition on Nigerian Modernism coming up this Autumn.”

Founding Director of 1-54, Touria El Glaoui, commented: “As we return to Marrakech for the 6th edition of 1-54, following its inauguration in 2018, it is our great honour to announce that the Tate Africa Acquisitions Committee Catalyst Fund has made its first acquisition at 1-54 Marrakech. This marks another milestone for the contemporary African art market and will certainly echo both locally here in Marrakech as well as on an international scale. It is wonderful to see how the Fair has firmly established itself as a world-class global art event rooted in the continent, serving as a vital bridge between artists, collectors, and institutions. We are incredibly proud to see one of our artists, Amoako Boafo, represented in the Tate collection and delighted that his work will inspire and captivate future generations visiting Tate’s galleries.”


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