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