ARTSPLIT, the pioneering African art technology platform, has launched Bridges – the December edition of its modern & contemporary auction featuring three iconic works by Ghanaian artists from 2 to 17 December available to access via the dedicated ARTSPLIT app and on public view at The Mix Design Hub in Accra between 11-16 December.
This Bridges auction will continue ARTSPLIT’s efforts of creating better access and value for both emerging African artists and already established artists. The auction will feature works by three Ghanaian artists; bold colourful paintings by Isshaq Ismail, the vibrant works of Ablade Glover that capture the joyous everyday life of Ghana and finally Kofi Agorsor whose buoyant, semi-abstract and witty depictions of his subjects have received widespread international acclaim.
The artists included in the auction bridge generations of artistic excellence, divulging an exploratory voyage into artistic skill, medium, and narrative across generations. All three artists evoke emotions and canonise womanhood as an ode to the motherland, referencing sociocultural norms and features in their works and bridging generations of artistic mastery and skill. These artists use their art to express resilience, inspire, reflect, and motivate change in the face of ongoing national and international challenges.
Ablade Glover’s work reflects his deep love of life, activity, and colour. Glover depicts animated landscapes that mirror the exuberant diversity of Africa: its bustling market stalls, brightly attired crowds and women, and the dynamic energy that is Ghana, using warm impastoed pigments to express the dynamism, energy, and heat of his country. Mostly, his canvases are a love affair with Africa, generously splattered on canvas, evoking the continent’s struggle, tension, beauty, and verve.
The vibrant, bold colours used in Kofi Agorsor’s paintings depict the daily lives of modern Ghanaians. of spontaneity and order. His paintings are frequently embellished with splashes, drips, and flows of paint that intertwine to form magnificent forests or labyrinths, reflecting the interplay of music, dance movements, and geometry. He frequently employs pulsing colours to create an interpretation of the essence of contemporary Ghanaians; lived experiences set against the backdrop of entertainment.
Isshaq Ismail uses black, brown, green, red, ochre, purple, and blue to investigate and explore grotesque figures and textures. Ismail describes his process in sculptural terms, describing how he manipulates paint with thick, gestural brushstrokes in the same way a sculptor shapes clay. Through these striking and evocative works, he hopes to subvert and interrogate conventional notions of beauty. Representing the masses and advocating for the voiceless; his paintings explore themes of desire, resilience, power, and hope.
The ARTSPLIT app allows users to own fractions of prominent African artworks, also known as “Splits,” and keep or sell them on the app at the end of the Split Auction.” The Splits allow multiple people to co-own a single iconic piece of art, which no other art platform currently does. Users can also participate in a ‘Lease Auction’ on the app to win physical custody of these co-owned artworks for a set period.
