Kobina
Nyarko
Born
1972, Takoradi, Ghana
Lives
and works at Azani, Ghana
Painting
marine animals and their environment
has been Kobina Nyarko’s major subject and focus for the past twenty years,
with fish being consistently depicted in all his paintings. Kobina Nyarko’s
artwork explores the symbolism of fish
in paintings and features numerous tiny fish on often large-scale canvases.
His
paintings were totally abstract in the beginning, till he came closer to the
fish by imagining himself living in the shark’s eyes. With time, these
paintings have evolved dramatically
to expressionism and impressionism. From simply painting
them as they are, to painting them as living animals and placing them in their
rightful place, the sea. The fish paintings reflect on the beauty beyond the
sea and the life therein and urge us to
stop pollution.
With
this as his main source of inspiration and focus, Kobina Nyarko has been able
to paint the shoals of fish movements in varying colors; in blues, reds,
yellows, oranges, greens, browns and grays. He is currently painting with
turquoise in oils and acrylics on
canvas.
Painting
about the symbolism of the fish has earned him the accolade, FISHMAN, by art collectors and art
lovers. He tries to compose these paintings with much effort and energy,
bringing into the paintings a spin, turn, push, spiral and tunnel movement and
making sure every fish in the painting has an eye.
Kobina
Nyarko’s titles capture the daily lives of the fish as in comparison with other
lives and make sure they carry a message for their being part of nature and our
existence, too. As these paintings of his reflect on the oceans and their
inhabitants, they carry a message of our obligation to care for them. Saving the seas is one of the strong
messages which cuts across his titling. Bringing these paintings to all mankind
is Nyarko’s ultimate goal and his
contribution to the environment. He doesn’t want future generations to come
to see current endangered species in the oceans only in pictures. ‘’When the
last fish dies, the last man dies”.
Nyarko’s
paintings are now all over the world. In Ghana, in private and public
collections, like the Canadian and Danish High Commission and also the
American, Russian and South African Embassies in Ghana. They are also exhibited
in the San Diego Museum of Man in California (USA) and Brussels (Belgium). In November 2018,
Kobina Nyarko was selected for a Private
Exhibition Organized by Gertrude Foundation and the British High Commission in
Ghana for HRH The Prince of Wales and
the Duchess of Cornwall, Jamestown Cafe, Accra, Ghana. Nyarko is currently selected for Art in Embassies
Program 2019, U.S. Department of State, for exhibiting his paintings in the
U.S. Embassy Accra, Ghana
FISHMAN
2020
www.crossgallerygh.com
