Bright Kontor Osei, from Sunyani, Ghana, is a prolific artist who recently graduated with a master’s degree from Ohio University in painting and drawing. Some of his art series on Ghana’s street vendors and their autobiographical narratives is currently being displayed at the Kennedy Museum of Art, including the work titled Benedicta, a bright and realistic depiction of a Ghanaian woman named Benedicta who sells bags. The quote from her, painted alongside, reads: “MY NAME IS BENEDICTA. MY BUSINESS IS GOING ON WELL AND I ALWAYS MAKE PROFIT. AT SOME POINT, I WANT TO BE IN SCHOOL AND COME BACK TO SELL BAGS AS A BIG WHOLESALER.” This work was created in 2023 from acrylic, ankara fabric, and 24k gold leaf on canvas.
“I want them to really see what it means to celebrate something,” Osei said, when asked about what he hopes visitors to the Kennedy Museum see while visiting the gallery. “Those things are celebrations of life, aspirations. So, I have the portrait, and then I have the [autobiographical stories of] text. And you see the gold leaf– you see the vibrancy, it’s a celebration of life.”
Osei said that with his work, he is trying to encapsulate the life of street vendors in Ghana and the socio-cultural landscape of Ghana as well. Growing up, his father owned a thrift store, and through this experience he became closer and empathetic toward the marginalized sides of Ghanian society.
“I’m celebrating the toils of these people and humanizing them more or less,” he said. “But I’m also raising questions or conversations around issues of identity and place, such as ‘where do [Ghanaians] position ourselves with the historical narrative of art’?” Osei said, in relation to the reasoning behind painting his subjects. “When you look at paintings, there are so many beautiful paintings of white people. The content of these artists…they have created beautiful pieces, masterpieces of people who are white. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of black faces on that list.”
Encountering and learning from street vendors inspired Osei, along with the Ghanaian practice of roadside artists. Roadside artists are, Osei said, typically artists who don’t have formal training or degrees in art, instead learning through practice or apprenticeships. Osei said he was “hugely influenced” by these artists and would look at roadside artists’ paintings and drawings in an inquisitive manner.
While in Ghana, he learned more about how to work with charcoal, graphite, and pencil, and worked to master these mediums. Many contemporary Ghanaian artists work with charcoal, he said. Throughout his educational journey, he’s never deviated from art. Now, he wants to take his art career further.
“I want to be one of the biggest names to ever do this,” Osei said. “So, I really see myself doing this and taking it seriously.”
Osei also has completed some teaching experience at Ohio University, including classes such as description and drawing, and figure drawing. He enjoys teaching for many reasons and finds that he is influenced by the students and their diverse culture and backgrounds.
“Anytime I’m in a classroom, I am open to learning, even though I am teaching,” he said. “I’m also learning as an instructor…because I believe in people tapping into their cultural backgrounds and creating knowledge out of that space.”
This duality of being both the teacher and the student creates an opportunity to tap into these different narratives, and “open my mind to new things, new possibilities, and things that I never thought would be possible.” Osei said that he “loves” his time in a classroom.
As an artist who recently achieved a master’s degree, and has experience working as an instructor, he also has a long list of exhibitions where his art has been displayed, including the current gallery at the KMA. The KMA also has purchased his work which will now be housed in the permanent collections. But he has also exhibited his work at the Ohio University Art Gallery, where his thesis exhibition, People of Ghana, was shown earlier this year. Not only has his art been shown in solo exhibitions, but he has also been a part of group exhibitions, including through the Columbus Printed Arts Center in 2022. One of his first group exhibitions was in 2018 with the Art Education Department in Winneba, Ghana.
On where he sees his art going in the future: “I still want to keep this work going right now. My work focuses on the complex stories encapsulated in the life of street people, with a particular focus on the socio-cultural landscape of Ghana, but I’m open to the nuanced variation in the United States. I’m hoping to tell the stories of people here as well.”
But as for now, Osei looks toward his roots back in his hometown of Sunyani.
“I feel such a deep connection with the stories of people back at home,” Osei said. “I still want to paint underprivileged people and sort of give them positions on gallery walls.”
Art can push boundaries, set expectations, and encourage viewers to feel and connect with new experiences and perspectives. Osei’s artist statement, featured on his website, is a way of stating part of his direction in his art.
“I aim for my work to inspire society to see marginalized people in a new light, fostering a renewed appreciation for their struggles and aspirations,” the statement reads. “Consequently, my efforts serve to underscore a sense of urgency and advocate for meaningful social reform.”
Bright Kontor Osei’s work at the Kennedy Museum of Art will be on view through Oct. 20. Come in and see his work for yourself! If you would like to learn more about him, check out his documentary: https://www.brightkontorosei.com/home.
Photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8nMR_Uvnii/?img_index=1
Article written by Maia LeClair, KMA Outreach Programs Assistant (Journalism News and Information major)
KENNEDY MUSEUM OF ART at Ohio University 
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