Saturday night 2020

Cornelius Annor made ‘Saturday Night’ with oil paint on canvas. Look at the careful rendering of the figures, each with their own presence, their own story. I am thinking about Annor there in his studio, Ghana, deciding how much detail to add to each figure, working with a limited palette, but finding such subtlety in those browns, reds, and blues. It makes me wonder, what was he thinking as he painted? Each layer, each brushstroke, a decision, an action, and a reaction. The painting surface is smooth, but I imagine the artist building up layers of colour, adjusting each figure's pose, maybe even thinking about the painting’s relationship to Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. The mood in this painting is amazing! The figures lean in, each lost in thought and expression. There is a great sense of quiet contemplation, and I feel the energy of a shared experience in Ghana. As artists, we're all in conversation, borrowing, and sharing our perspectives. It's like a big, ongoing jam session across time. We offer each other new ways of seeing and feeling.