I have been watching Amma Gifty Ohenewaa Potukyan paint for several years now. I have witnessed an artist and her universe come to life. Amma’s art is as honest as she is. Her sensitivity and understanding towards others manifests in an artistic finesse. Her work is by all means a quest; an exploration through a continuous, infinite process. She inquires without holding back, always searching for more. At first glance, her approach may be quite obscure. Yet little by little, the viewer is able to recognize meaning and thus is brought to recognize himself.

 

To be an observer of her art requires the same amount of courage necessary for Amma as an artist. This “mirror effect” forms a valuable experience, an alliance between the artist and the viewer. Amma is well aware of this.

 

Striving beyond that of a simple notion, the complexity of Gifty’s work is what creates meaning. Her subject is at the center of all her questions. Harsh, frontal compositions are absent of decor, displaying the human in all his mystery and in all his truth. The visual aspect is refined without added details. Smooth streaks of paint are distributed in bold layers. The simple components of such an atmosphere could perhaps be considered an artist’s caution. However, what seems like a weightless surface is Gifty carefully and cleverly allowing one to acknowledge her work. Choice of color confirms her modesty, particularly in works where only shades of black and gray are present. In the end, her style lends meaning with a certain grace and tact which cannot be defined. It is simply felt.

 

Surely this is due to the context and climate of her African heritage. History is not as far as one may think. There is certainly the ever present question of human nature and the fact that individuals belong to a bigger, unfathomable reality. In the strokes of her paintbrush one finds the presence of Fautrier, Wang Keping, Wilfredo Lam, but also that of Louis Soutter. Amma is undoubtedly well surrounded.

 

For this reason, her art is not just about portraying meaning. On the canvas she manages to address a universal theme. She brings relationships to life as well. Simple figures, faces only slightly traced…The movements of her subjects force one to contemplate the artist behind the canvas, even the hand holding the paintbrush. Most of all, one wants to know the human behind the artist. Through her paintings, Gifty is alive and watching us.