PORTFOLIO – 23

MAX BOADI – THE TORCH BEARER.

By Nii B. Andrews

If we are to conduct a roll call of Ghanaian artists today, one name will immediately stand out when we consider the users of the palette knife.

That name is Ablade Glover. But Max Boadi appears to be a worthy candidate for torch bearer of Glover’s mastery and goodly heritage.

Happily, Boadi has developed his own distinctive style and voice.

UNTITLED: Max Boadi, oil on canvas, 2011. Private collection, purchased from the artist.

Since graduating from the Ghanatta College of Art in 2004; Boadi has been fine tuning his technical skills thus enabling him to continuously showcase his formidable talent to the immense joy of both seasoned and neophyte art collectors.

PAINTED CITY: Max Boadi, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 in, 2017. Signed and dated right lower corner. Courtesy of the artist.

His individual compositions engender an air of expectation; his art is eclectic and easily accessible.

UNTITLED: Max Boadi, charcoal on canvas, 72 x 77 cm, 2011. Signed and dated left lower corner. Private collection, purchased from the artist.

This is perhaps on account of his attention grabbing color scheme – bright blues, yellow, red  and mauves predominate.

The work is original; the voice unpretentious; the aesthetic sense unfettered but finely poised.

RUNNING: Max Boadi, oil on canvas, 69 x 54 cm, 2010. Signed and dated left lower corner. Private collection, purchased from the artist.

Emotional clarity abounds so as to completely offset the temptation of clichéd painting in order to please patrons either foreign or local.

Boadi works in oil, acrylic and charcoal – all on canvas.

EMPTY STREET: Max Boadi, oil on canvas, 101.5 x 76 cm, 2010. Signed and dated left lower corner. Private collection, purchased from artist.

He produces cityscapes and beach scenes; he also goes indoors and produces enigmatic images of pre- adolescent girls either day dreaming on their own or exchanging secrets in pairs.

GIRL WITH RED CLOTH: Max Boadi, oil on canvas, 124 x 101 cm, 2010. Signed and dated left lower corner. Private collection, purchased from the artist.

Since Boadi lives and works in a cauldron- the megapolis that is Accra – the figures in his paintings are always purposeful, confident and engaged.

His cityscapes and beach scenes keep changing to reflect the appalling blight or ghettoization of Accra as the city is overrun with filth and kiosks…..not withstanding how or what recent Asian photographers choose to document!

Max Boadi and Ms. Damali – COO of ARTcapital Ghana; Artists Alliance Gallery 2017.

We shall continue to look forward to Boadi’s accurate and nuanced interpretations of Ghanaian urban life in whatever medium he finds appropriate.

As collectors and art lovers, we gladly anticipate the evolution of his style, fully assured that he will continue to surprise and delight us to the max.


Max Boadi’s painting, “Empty Street” anchors the section of wall in a living room.
UNTITLED: Max Boadi, charcoal on canvas, 77.5 x 62 cm, 2010. Signed and dated left lower corner. Private collection, purchased from the artist.
EARLY BIRDS: Max Boadi, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 cm, 2017. Signed and dated. Private collection, purchased from the artist.

 

 

 

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