Gyasi’s images radiate with color. They are fantastical creations, dramatic portraits in which ordinary people appear to have stepped into his colorized studio for a moment of transcendent artistry. Speaking in April 2019 at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, he succinctly explained his practice.
“I usually tell stories through my iPhone lens and with the use of color,” Gyasi said, at the forum hosted by the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in the UK.
“I don’t use an iPhone just because I want to be unique. I use an iPhone because I believe as an artist you can use whatever tool or whatever equipment you have to tell your stories. I also use color because I want people to be mentally and emotionally healed by just looking at my images and my art pieces.”
“I don’t use an iPhone just because I want to be unique. I use an iPhone because I believe as an artist you can use whatever tool or whatever equipment you have to tell your stories.” — Prince Gyasi
The gallery is currently showcasing Gyasi’s work at the New York edition of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the fair is online only this year. Artsy is presenting the event May 4-31, 2020.
MOST OF GYASI’S IMAGES are captured in Accra. He focuses on the essence of his subjects—womanhood, manhood, and childhood. Although many of the individuals are marginalized, Gyasi presents bold counter-narratives.
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