Araba Opoku, Training Wheels, acrylic on canvas, 138.5 x 139 cm. Courtesy of the Artist and Bwo.
With both repeating, textile-like patterns and free-flowing forms, Araba Opoku’s large-scale abstractions hint at infinite possibilities and untold stories. Finding beauty in her surroundings, the artist begins her practice with images and objects from everyday life—like streets and bottles—and transforms them using loose grid lines and contours. Two of her paintings are included in a group exhibition, “Where Dreams Are Born and Peace Restored,” on view at Bwo Art Gallery in Douala, Cameroon, through April 20th.
Opoku teases layers of meaning out of her medium, using the fluidity of paint as a vehicle to explore the recurring theme of water. In On A Voyage Into Blue’s Euporie (2022), for example, Opoku applies aqueous layers of blue and green. Faded vertical lines of acrylic paint streak the canvas, mirroring the gentle trickle of water. The composition channels age-old rituals of water collection and conservation, offering a glimpse into the daily lives of communities in Opoku’s home of Accra.
