Kofi Perry is an American-Iranian contemporary painter whose work and practice reimagines the ancient past through a contemporary Black American perspective. His large-scale, multi-figure narrative paintings, alongside intimate portraits and museal still life compositions, offer a reinterpretation of classicism, drawing from the shared aesthetics of ancient civilisations: anatomical idealization, round and simple forms and frieze compositions. His works build on a continuous lore, evoking themes of magic, spirituality and ancient history, intertwined with the austerity of gangsta rap and imagery of the Black Panther Party. Athleticism is utilized as a vital symbol of the physical, emotional and psychological resilience required to navigate a predominantly White society as a Black individual. The simultaneously heroic, saintly and militant figures in Perry’s compositions inhabit mythic narratives that allude to climatic and political crises, aiming to inspire and empower Black and Brown creatives for posterity to resist the dystopian realities often imposed upon them.
Kofi Perry has had solo presentations with DADA Gallery, London and presented in group exhibitions at Cob Gallery, London and Cromwell Place London.. His work is in the collections of Cheng-Lan Foundation, Hong Kong and the The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art, UK. He was the recipient of The Ingram Prize, 2023 and The Charles Toppan Prize in 2020.
EDUCATION
2021-2022 BFA (Hons), City And Guilds of London Art School
2018-2020 BFA, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
2017-2018 BFA, Hong Kong Art School
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Cooke Latham Gallery, London (forthcoming)
2024 1-54 Art Fair with DADA Gallery, Somerset House, London
2024 Remnants From a Distant Future, curated by Jo Baring, The Lightbox Gallery, Woking UK
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 In Tandem, Cob Gallery, London (forthcoming)
2024 A Portrait of the Artist (Pool with Two Figures), Cob Gallery, London
2024 Tender Communions, DADA Gallery, Cromwell Place, London
2023 Ingram Prize, juried by Jo Baring, Cromwell Place, London
2022 Degree Show, City and Guilds of London Art School, London
2019 Times End, juried by Alisha B. Wormsley, Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley, Pennsylvania
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2023 The Ingram Prize, winner, London
2022 The Baton Fine Art Prize, juried by Oli Epp, Flora Yukhnovich, and Natalia Gonzalez Martin, winner, City and Guilds of London Art School, London
2020 The Charles Toppan Prize, winner, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Cheng-Lan Foundation, Hong Kong
The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art, UK Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, USA
Sweetwater Center for the Arts, USA
