Sanded layers: an aged, warm, and orange backdrop.
A chair, a checkered floor: spectral figures carrying fragmented memories.
The backdrop for this piece: childhood trauma—memory unearthed and forgotten. Melancholic texture blends past, present, and future, inviting introspection on personal histories and their impact.
Tangled lines: fractured relationships and domestic conflict.
The composition: a stage for the ephemeral presence of past experiences.
Negyem Adonoo is a Ghanaian artist known for his heavily textured paintings that explore memory and human presence in abandoned spaces. He creates signature canvases with abrasive, geological surfaces built from molding paste, oil pastels, and acrylic paint that act as metaphors for history, loss, and erosion. Adonoo holds a higher certificate in painting from the Ghanatta College of Art and Design, Accra (2012). He debuted at the Efie Gallery in Dubai (2021); his work has also been shown internationally at The Chilli Art Project (London, 2023) and “I Hear In Colours” (Japan, 2023), as well as locally at the National Museum Gallery and the European Union (EU) in Ghana. His art is in significant international collections, including Efie Gallery and Prefere Gallery (Japan).
Adonoo’s significant recognitions include: the Leukemia Art Prize in Ghana (2019); a selection for the Rele Foundation’s “Young Contemporary Booth Camp” in Nigeria; and a top 10 finalist position for the Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Art Accra, Ghana.