Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s lush, enigmatic portraits place Black figures into evocative settings and situations. The artist’s quickly wrought, intuitive compositions often feature simple, minimalist clothing and stark, moody backdrops. These choices highlight the figures’ rich inner lives and the material properties of Yiadom-Boakye’s paints and brushstrokes.
Yiadom-Boakye studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Falmouth College of Arts and the Royal Academy Schools. She has since exhibited widely and enjoyed institutional shows at Tate Britain, the Yale Center for British Art and Moderna Museet. In 2018, she was awarded the Carnegie Prize. The following year, Yiadom-Boakye was included in Ghana’s inaugural pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale.
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s enigmatic portraits of fictitious people have been exhibited at Tate Britain (London, UK) beginning 2023. This exhibition brought together around 70 works from 2023 to the present day in the most extensive survey of the artist’s career to date.