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.
Beauty in blue
2018
Metal print on aluminum
30 x 50 in (76.2 x 127 cm)
Edition of 6 + 1 AP (Edition #1 Sold)
Extensions
2018
Single-channel video, color, sound
6 minutes 4 seconds
Edition of 6 + 1 AP (Edition #1 Sold)
Untitled
2021
Digital print over plexiglass
30 x 45 in (76.2 x 114.3 cm)
Edition of 5
Braided in blue
2018
Photographic print over clear plexiglass, mounted on aluminum
40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Edition of 5
Ready. Set. Transform
2018
Digital print over clear plexiglass
36 x 45 in (91.4 x 114.3 cm)
Edition of 5
Africa Clothe Me Bare, Dallas II
2015
One-channel video with sound
Africa Clothe Me Bare, Jacksonville
2017
Photograph, metal print
40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Africa Clothe Me Bare, Overland Park
2016
Photograph, metal print
40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis I
2016
C-print
15 x 26 7/16 in (38.1 x 67.3 cm)
Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis IV
2016
Photograph, Metal Print
40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Series: Africa Clothe Me Bare
Africa Clothe Me Bare, St. Louis V (I Am The Public Goddess)
2017
Photograph, Metal Print
40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Breaking Seals: Briser LA Limite #52
2018
Digital print
45 x 30 in (114.3 x 76.2 cm)
Breaking Seals: Briser LA Limite #130
2018
Digital print
45 x30 in (114.3 x 76.2 cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)
Title
2024
Oil on canvas
12 x 12 in (20 x 20cm)