CONRAD EGYIR: In Jubilant Pastures

"In Menorah’s Volta: A Light that Speaks (2023), Egyir creates a hybrid space between the United States and Ghana; the canvas depicts his wife, close up from the back, as she looks out at two topographically different mountain ranges—one in America, the other in Africa—while a flame flickers above her head, decorating the sky. Like a Menorah, the light continues to shine in the work, fusing two territories together in another play on identity, reinforcing the idea that a person may feel in equal measure displaced and entirely at home."

- Charles Moore in "Conrad Egyir: In Jubilant Pastures"

"La Gloire de Rois (2024), the largest work in the show, was inspired by one of the artist’s dreams. Its inherent surrealism is all-encompassing, touching on notions of home, place, and sovereignty...The second subject serves as a spiritual paradigm—seemingly breathing life, and imagination, back into the initial subject. It’s important to note, though, that these subjects are one and the same, or two versions of a single person; Egyir has a habit of multiplying his subjects within each canvas, with complementary, or at times contrasting, situations shaping their identities. Yet the viewer can’t overlook the use of landscape. A burst of vibrant color decorates the background on the left-hand side: There is a cherry tree in full bloom, pink and abundant, sheltering the green grass below. In this section a woman, immersed in the scene before her, plays a harp, while a young boy stands beside her, looking on. These scenes unfold in parallel in the work, reinforcing the artist’s pull between two cultures. With migration and empathy—or relating to others—at the forefront of the painting, Egyir multiplies his subjects to craft the composition, weaving together stories of antagonists and protagonists, placing each character within the space, and deconstructing the very notion of colonialism. The artist doesn’t hesitate to play with borders or textures, underscoring the impact of documentation in all forms and embellishing his canvases at will."

- Charles Moore in "Conrad Egyir: In Jubilant Pastures"

"Egyir’s bright color palette is uniquely his, with each work enlivened through colors, through ideas—through the careful application of glitter, even—and ultimately through a desire to craft stories from dreams. Each rich yellow, oceanic blue, or deep green is associated with content the artist has consumed: music, literature, sermons, West African folklore, or, of course, internal dreamscapes. Egyir thinks about the colors that appear in his dreams, allowing his memories of the moment to morph into new concepts entirely; his color selection is the driver behind this, helping each scene to come alive. The resulting canvases are poetic—and not only because the artist has infused poetry, written in English, Twi, French, and Swahili, into four of the works. These four paintings are on wooden panels that open up like a graphic novel or journal. Fusing the impact of visual iconography with that of literature, the artist has adorned these canvases with stories, or special narratives, decorating his paintings with paraphrased quotes that inspire him, and he has sculpted them into something new."

- Charles Moore in "Conrad Egyir: In Jubilant Pastures"

"Egyir’s symbolism is nuanced, with objects like postage stamps pointing to migration and objects like acrylic combs from the Akan region, which connects Ghana and the Ivory Coast, allowing him to stay grounded to his African roots. His subjects wear sandals, carry dolls, and sit on stools that belong to specific tribes; the details are culturally resonant, and the landscapes offer a universal take on the scenes he creates. Egyir simultaneously embraces his Black Americanness."

- Charles Moore in "Conrad Egyir: In Jubilant Pastures"