2022
oil on canvas
Estimate: €15,000 – 20,000
Ablade Glover is a Ghanaian artist celebrated worldwide. His artistry captures the dynamic transformations—gendered, social, political, economic, and spiritual—that shape Ghana. His work documents the nation’s ever-evolving landscape, from bustling market scenes and lorry stations to intimate female portraits and depictions of motherhood. He renders the rhythmic energy of market women, the intensity of cockfights, the tranquillity of forests, and the vastness of beachscapes, all in a quest to reveal the underlying order within apparent disorder—an evocative reflection of life’s harmony amidst chaos.
Glover employs a neo-expressionist technique, wielding his palette knife with rhythmic precision. His thickly layered impasto breathes life into his canvases, conjuring visceral memories and emotions that bridge external observation with introspective response. Each stroke embodies the pulse of Ghana’s shifting environment, preserving its essence in rich, textural layers.
Unlike artists who explore disparate series, Glover’s practice is an ongoing refinement of his core themes. His market scenes, townscapes, and portraits are not mere repetitions but evolving dialogues, each rendered with distinctive topographical depth. The palette knife remains his signature tool, sculpting light, movement, and form into compositions that transcend the visual, immersing the viewer in the very spirit of his subjects.
Ablade Glover (b. 1934) is known as both an artist and educator with a passion for life, movement, and colour. Glover’s works are held in esteemed collections around the world, including the Imperial Palace Collection in Tokyo, UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Glover has exhibited widely across West Africa, Europe, the United States, and Japan. He also plays a key role in Ghana’s contemporary art scene as the founder and director of the renowned Artists Alliance Gallery in Accra.
