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6Otis Kwame Kye QuaicoeBlack Stripes on Whitesigned and dated 'Kwame Kye 19' lower right; further signed and dated 'KWAME KYE JUNE 2019' on the reverse oil on canvas 122 x 91.5 cm (48 x 36 in.) Painted in June 2019. Full CataloguingEstimate £20,000 - 30,000 ‡ Place Advance BidContact Specialist Kate Bryan Specialist, Head of Evening Sale +44 20 7318 4026 kbryan@phillips.com
Overview'When I first see my subjects, whether in real life or in photos, I see in them their resilience, their power, their inner strength. These are the character traits that arrest me.' —Otis Kwame Devising a regal, colourful and entirely fresh style of portraiture, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe takes the tradition of painting and propels it into the contemporaneous. In Black Stripes on White, an anonymous male model gazes, motionless, at an area beyond the frame, wearing a curated attire that blends romantic flânerie with urban coolness. The delicate, small flower lain behind his ear echoes the floral print running along his striped T-Shirt – a recurring element that resonates with Quaicoe’s painterly endeavour to challenge gendered perceptions. ‘When I paint male figures, I typically incorporate floral elements into the painting as a means to subvert the overall masculine energy of the work’, he said.i While Black Stripes on White attends to all the pictorial conventions typically deployed within the painterly genre of portraiture, the bright yellow background at the protagonist’s back, as well as the free-flowing parameters established to distinguish his identity, betray a contemporary touch, interfering with the composition’s otherwise traditional structure. Incorporating distinctive accessorial elements, the painting namely calls to mind Jan Vermeer’s iconic Girl with a Pearl Earring, here imparted with a modern twist. Jan Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, c. 1665-66, oil on canvas, Mauritshuis, The Hague. Image: Bridgeman Images. 'I have worked with different materials and explored different styles throughout my career, and it took me eleven years to find my own voice, which I currently inhabit.' —Otis Kwame Kye QuaicoeTaking inspiration from strangers he meets on the street, encounters on social media or friends and colleagues, Quaicoe paints luminous portraits of black men and women, typically set against bright monochromatic backgrounds. Born in Accra, Ghana, the artist was first introduced to painting by the expressive, highly stylised posters painted by local artists to advertise upcoming films. Engrossed with this material, he soon thereafter began to recreate the images he found in magazines and ‘anything [he] could get his hands on’.ii ‘Color means a great deal where I come from’, the artist continued. ‘It's a distinguishing quality – the very means of self-expression’iii. In Black Stripes on White, Quaicoe’s proclivity for glossy renderings and chromatic vibrancy is made evident by the flashy yellow background haloing the central figure, as well as the carmine flowers ornating his striped T-Shirt. As the nameless protagonist sits in a considered and elegant pose, Black Stripes on White furthermore encapsulates Quaicoe’s desire to portray ‘sophistication and humility, curiosity and quietude’.iv Painting, Painting, and Painting More Speaking of his process, Quaicoe explains that time, focus, and perseverance became essential tools from which to approach his craft. As a result, the artist typically goes to his studio at around six in the morning, at which point ‘I just paint, paint and then paint some more’.v When a specific idea comes to mind – specifically that of whom he envisages painting – he begins congregating reference material. ‘After choosing the subject matter, I take their photo, if possible, through various settings. The overall process is one where the details are flushed out while I work’.vi Aside from using his medium as a way of documenting time, the places he visits and the people he meets, Quaicoe concludes that his work ultimately comes down to each viewer’s specific and subjective reading. ‘What I see in the subject might be radically different than what someone else sees. I just want them to enjoy the work – to try as much to understand my work, my perspective and life story, but to also enjoy it as well’.vii i Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, quoted in Grace Erbert, ‘In Bright Paintings Full of Color, A