Meet Kenneth Aidoo
Aidoo creates portraits exploring his heritage, the neglected history of black people and his personal background and life experiences in the Netherlands. In his work, different narratives emerge about the positioning of black people: his works deal with how this position arose and how it is developing in today’s society, towards both men and women. The artist explores this topic through film, paintings, drawings in oil pastels and video installations.
One of his notable works, "Displacement," took him to Suriname, where he delved into the triangular connection between Ghana, the Netherlands, and Suriname. This research was incorporated in a video installation and a series of photographs.
Kenneth Aidoo (1988) is an artist currently based in Amsterdam. Aidoo graduated from the Nederlandse Filmacademie in 2015 and from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2019. His work has been exhibited at Galerie 23, Amsterdam, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp and Hama Gallery, Amsterdam. In 2021 he was nominated, and in 2022 won the Royal Award for Modern Painting.
Featured product
Edition of 15
- 21 x 29,7 cm
- Risoprint 5 colours on Arena Natural Rough 200g paper
- Signed and numbered by the artist
- Optionally framed (longer delivery time)
This limited edition riso print "An Ode to Boris" is a portrait of Boris Kollar, a fellow student with whom Aidoo had attended Gerrit Rietveld. Aidoo had served as a model for Boris's graduation project in the fashion department of Gerrit Rietveld. The clothing from Boris's collection reminded Aidoo of the Middle Ages, which sparked conversations between both artists about daily life and fashion in relation to past and modern times. Aidoo incorporated the work in a series of paintings, discussing the presence of Africans during the Middle Ages in Europe, with which he won the Royal Painting Prize in 2022. He produced two editions of these paintings in riso print available now at our website.
Aidoo creates portraits exploring his heritage, the neglected history of black people and his personal background and life experiences in the Netherlands. In his work, different narratives emerge about the positioning of black people: his works deal with how this position arose and how it is developing in today’s society, towards both men and women. The artist explores this topic through film, paintings, drawings in oil pastels and video installations.
Pickup available at Unfair Amsterdam
Usually ready in 5+ days
An Ode to Boris
Framed
Unfair Amsterdam
WG-plein 13
1054 RA Amsterdam
Netherlands
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