Kwesi Botchway
‘Dark Purple is Everything Black’, Exhibition essay, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana: 2020
In Kwesi Botchway’s vibrant paintings, colour is everything. Colour is language, character, culture, community.
In particular, purple is the new black—the new everything black. Botchway’s world of monochromatic backgrounds and sensuous ombrés are grounded in a deep dark purple, as subtle as it is strong. His characteristically impressionist brushstrokes, glimmers of light, and pops of colour draw viewers in close. As we stare into bright, tinted eyes—looking into new souls reflecting our own—we see purple. Light purple, dark purple, blue purple, purple purple: black purple. Botchway’s Dark Purple is Everything Black.