Kofi Perry American-Iranian, b. 1998

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.