Yvonne Osei German-born Ghanaian, b. 1990

Works
  • Yvonne Osei, Beauty in Blue, 2018
    Beauty in Blue, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, EXTENSIONS, 2018
    EXTENSIONS, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Untitled, 2021
    Untitled, 2021
  • Yvonne Osei, Braided in Blue, 2018
    Braided in Blue, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Ready. Set. Transform, 2018
    Ready. Set. Transform, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Africa Clothe Me Bare, Dallas II, 2015
    Africa Clothe Me Bare, Dallas II, 2015
  • Yvonne Osei, Africa Clothe Me Bare, Jacksonville, 2017
    Africa Clothe Me Bare, Jacksonville, 2017
  • Yvonne Osei, Africa Clothe Me Bare, Overland Park, 2016
    Africa Clothe Me Bare, Overland Park, 2016
  • Yvonne Osei, Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis I, 2016
    Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis I, 2016
  • Yvonne Osei, Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis IV, 2016
    Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis IV, 2016
  • Yvonne Osei, Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis V (I am the Public Goddess), 2017
    Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis V (I am the Public Goddess), 2017
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals: Briser La Limite #52, 2018
    Breaking Seals: Briser La Limite #52, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #130, 2018
    Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #130, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #132, 2018
    Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #132, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #134, 2018
    Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #134, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #140, 2018
    Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #140, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #183, 2018
    Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #183, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #53, 2018
    Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #53, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #61-63, 2018
    Breaking Seals; Briser La Limite #61-63, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Dunamis Liberty, 2018
    Dunamis Liberty, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Here to Stay: Lois in Pepper Them (Brown), 2017
    Here to Stay: Lois in Pepper Them (Brown), 2017
  • Yvonne Osei, Here to Stay: Yvonne in Pepper Them (Blue), 2017
    Here to Stay: Yvonne in Pepper Them (Blue), 2017
  • Yvonne Osei, I am Looking for Diego de Azambuja, 2018
    I am Looking for Diego de Azambuja, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Liberty's Liberty , 2018
    Liberty's Liberty , 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Lines of Attraction, 2018
    Lines of Attraction, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Monica in Mighty Pawns (Green), 2017
    Monica in Mighty Pawns (Green), 2017
  • Yvonne Osei, Sea to Shining Sea, 2019
    Sea to Shining Sea, 2019
  • Yvonne Osei, Serena in Yoked (Blue), 2017
    Serena in Yoked (Blue), 2017
  • Yvonne Osei, She Wears Me As Her Armor; Watch Me Watch You See Through Me, 2018
    She Wears Me As Her Armor; Watch Me Watch You See Through Me, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, The Other I, 2014
    The Other I, 2014
  • Yvonne Osei, Untitled, 2018
    Untitled, 2018
  • Yvonne Osei, Untitled, 2018
    Untitled, 2018
Overview

German-born Ghanaian artist Yvonne Osei’s creative practice examines beauty and colorism, the politics of clothing, complexities associated with global trade, and the residual implications of colonialism in post-colonial West Africa and Western cultures. This new body of work explores the influence of colonialism and Western education on the West African psyche. Using Ghana's public-school uniforms as a symbol of knowledge-seeking, Yvonne Osei travels to European countries, including Portugal, France, and Spain, on a quest to question, analyze, and confront historical narratives.

Yvonne Osei received her MFA in Visual Arts from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She received a BFA and a BA with a concentration in International Studies from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri and is pursuing an MA in Fashion Design and Business at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. Osei is the 2016–17 Romare Bearden Graduate Minority Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum; she is currently the inaugural Curator-In-Residence at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) and an Adjunct Professor at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. Her latest solo exhibition, "Tailored Landscapes", was at Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MO (2018). In 2023 she was one of the artist featured in the Great Rivers Biennial at the Contemporary Art Museum of Saint Louis. 

Exhibitions