It Takes Two 2020

Cornelius Annor's painting, *It Takes Two*, is a scene brought to life with muted colors and a quiet atmosphere. I imagine him carefully laying down each layer, building the figures from a place of memory and observation, and feeling his way through it. It looks like Annor used thin layers of paint, almost like watercolor, to build up these incredible textures and patterns, especially in the figure on the left – the gold pattern is amazing! What was he thinking when he made those figures sitting down playing the game? Maybe he was capturing a scene from his childhood, or a moment he witnessed in his community. I can see his focus on the relationships between the figures, their postures and interactions. Annor is part of an ongoing conversation that stretches back centuries. Every mark, every color choice, is a response to what's come before. It’s a painter talking to other painters across time, working through similar ideas and problems. And that conversation, that exchange, is what keeps art alive.