A Black History of Art Presents: A Shared Gaze

Gideon Appah

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Episode notes

A conversation with Gideon Appah, a Ghanaian artist who draws on childhood memories, mythology and west African landscapes. 

This conversation was recorded on the 24th of March 2023. Our discussion centres on specific paintings in his first UK solo exhibition with Pace gallery, London in 2023 titled How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights. In this conversation, Gideon speaks to Alayo about his childhood and studies in Accra, the influences he takes from West African cinema and music videos, and his unique technique of painting with oils and acrylics. Gideon gives in-depth descriptions of the techniques he used to make specific paintings, there is a link to the installation images from How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights below – to guide your listening. Gideon’s solo exhibition, titled The Play of Thought is due to open at Pace Gallery, Seoul on the 20th of March, 2024.

'How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights' -- images from the exhibition linked here and here.

Keep up with us:
Gideon: @appah_gideon

Alayo: @ablackhistoryofart ; @alayoakinkugbe