A Ghanaian native, William Kwamena-Poh is a local artist based in City Market who has been painting nearly photo-realistic scenes arising from his country and culture of origin since the 1980s.
Decades ago, he relocated to the U.S. with his father. A Fulbright Scholar, his father wanted to give his troubled son a better shot at success.
“I flunked out of high school. I was the black sheep,” said Kwamena-Poh.
His father took him to the U.S. to give him the opportunity to elevate himself. After arriving in the American Southeast, Kwamena-Poh met the late James Huff, a contemporary African-American artist. Huff is known for his uplifting portraits of Black men.
“I saw his work and I thought, ‘oh, I can do that,’ which of course was a joke,” he laughed. “When you’re young, you think you can do it, but you don’t even realize. . . We have a saying in Ghana, which means not all of us have been grown-ups, but all of us have been children before. We know how our behavior is as children, kids think ‘you don’t know me. You don’t know nothing.’”
With the boldness that comes with youth, Kwamena-Poh began to study with Huff.
“He taught me how to see light, how to use diagonal lines. Those are the two gifts that he gave me,” Kwamena-Poh reflected. “He always challenged me . . . pushed me to be better.”
That challenge to continually grow, develop and further his artistry has been the cornerstone of Kwamena-Poh’s creativity. Self-taught, he started out with stippling as his signature, an artistic style defined by hundreds or even thousands of tiny, meticulously arranged dots, which form a cohesive image. He eventually moved away from that and today renders these hyperrealistic paintings of place and portraiture depicting the rich, vibrant culture he stems from. Fishermen, boats and fishing scenes are common subjects in his work.
“The good Lord said go be fishers of men, and that comes from the mentality that you don’t sow seeds. . . When you’re fishers of men, the fish you’re looking for are not planted,” he said of the mentality behind his art. “I also try to show the different character and the workmanship these guys do . . . there’s a certain respect they have for the ocean. . . I like their philosophy.”
Beyond fishermen, Kwamena-Poh’s artworks also feature women, children and scenes at the marketplace.
They convey the family ties as well as the cultural realities of Ghanaian life.
Interested patrons can see his work online or in person at his City Market gallery. Kwamena-Poh also exhibits in various art shows throughout the nation and globally. He has amassed a sizable collection of awards through the years.
“I love to travel; it allows me to see a lot more of the world and show the work,” he said. In addition to traveling for shows, what he loves most about art is the continual pushing and yearning to do more.
“For me, there’s always that everyday drive of ‘can I do it again?’ That question you constantly ask yourself, and it’s tough because you have to keep that consistency. Can you build it over, and over, and over again?” he expressed. “Everything is a process of making sure that the lifestyles of the people who carved the boats, who built the shacks, who made the scarf and wrap — that their spirit and their energy shines through. . . What you’ve got to do is make sure that the people, that the story you’re telling resonates.”
By Chantel Britton
William Kwamena-Poh Studio
307 W. Saint Julian St., Studio 8, Upstairs
(912) 210-0248
www.williamkfineart.net
