W Ta Shi – We Have Taken Our Sit 2022

Cornelius Annor's painting, ‘W Ta Shi – We Have Taken Our Sit’, is a scene realized with flat planes of colour, a graphic simplification of form. It feels incredibly contemporary and deeply rooted in art history all at once. Looking at those figures, I can imagine Annor building up the painting, colour by colour, finding the right balance between observation and invention, and pushing and pulling, all in search of the perfect composition. I wonder what Annor was thinking when he applied those vibrant colours - that pale lavender and the oranges! Did he have a sense of how they would sit next to one another? Those strong colours give off a feeling of optimism, a joy of seeing, with visual echoes of Matisse. For me, the most striking aspect is how Annor uses the painting itself to explore the experience of seeing and being. He is in conversation with other painters, looking and responding to the world and to the history of painting as well. And now, through his work, he invites us to join the conversation, too.