I recently had a chance to visit the "Fragments" exhibition at the Buffalo Art Studio and caught the paintings of Ghana born artist George Afedzi Hughes. To my delight I was able to meet George during the showing, and had a 40 minute frank conversation with him on his art as social commentary on post colonial African society, and the interdependency that now exist between Western traditional art and African art. Geroge's art is not about commercial commerce, it is about making a statement on the atrocities of colonialism in Africa, and how his art serves as both hope for the future while relaying a warning of the past. His large overpowering canvases with vibrant colors of mixed media are a testiment of the skill in media used by George, and give his subliminal subject matter a sense of purpose. He attempts to convey a hidden mask of human subconscoiusness of violence by juxtaposing everyday social imagery with images of disfigured human and animal body parts. This style plays on the notion of a "hidden" or dual persona under the everyday common image of people we see and relate to in our social lives, which also symbolizes an ancient African belief in social societies which practice masquerades, where dancers become the living embodiment of the animal or diety they are portraying.
It will be interesting to see if George's art works gather a major exhibition following. I truly feel he has powerful imagery that warrants attention. If you are in the Buffalo, NY area and would like to see the exhibition, it will be on display at the
Buffalo Art Studio until May 21, 2011.
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