In 1962, Picelj initiated a series of his self-published “Edition a” art booklets, having released a total of seven publications up until 1964. Each issue of “Edition a” featured the work of one artist —mostly of a colleague whose work he admired.
In 1962, Picelj initiated a series of his self-published “Edition a” art booklets, having released a total of seven publications up until 1964. Each issue of “Edition a” featured the work of one artist —mostly of a colleague whose work he admired.
2022
oil on canvas
120 x 100 cm
Estimate: €800,000–1,200,000
Record: Amoako Boafo is currently the highest-selling African artist. In 2021, his work Hands Up was auctioned for a record amount of approximately €3,100,000 at Christie’s in Hong Kong.
Educated in Accra and Vienna, Amoako Boafo – one of the key contemporary African artists – combines the artistic traditions of both continents, creating portraits that are at once bold, intimate, and deeply personal. Painted with his fingertips, the figure depicted in Laced Fingers expresses confidence and vulnerability, strength and calm, while eluding straightforward interpretation.
Having experienced marginalization in Austria because of his skin color, Boafo decided to focus on portraying Black people, who remain underrepresented in the international contemporary art world. Inspired by the expressionist portraits of Vienna Secession artists such as Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, he creates elegant paintings through direct touch, applying paint to the canvas with his fingers instead of a brush. In his characteristic way, the artist conveys the self-assurance, style, and character of the depicted figures, who often make eye contact with the viewer.
Amoako Boafo (b. 1984) is an internationally acclaimed painter, known for his distinctive portrayal of sitters. He is a graduate of Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Accra and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
Boafo is deeply committed to the development of Ghana’s art scene and to supporting young artists from the country. In 2022, he founded dot.ateliers – designed by architect David Adjaye – which includes a gallery, studios, a library, and spaces for artistic residencies.
Boafo’s works are held in numerous private and public collections around the world, including the Blenheim Art Foundation (Woodstock, UK), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), Hirshhorn Museum (Washington, D.C.), Rubell Museum (Miami), the Pizzuti Collection at the Columbus Museum of Art, and the Albertina Museum (Vienna). In 2021, his painting Hands Up (2018) sold for USD 3.4 million at Christie’s in Hong Kong. Boafo received the Walter Koschatzky Art Prize in 2017 and the STRABAG Art Award International in 2019.
