Joseph Kojo Hoggar

Biography

Joseph Kojo Hoggar (b.1999 Accra, Ghana) will graduate with a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Accra in September 2022.

Hoggar appropriates images from contemporary culture and classical paintings, incorporating them onto screen sheets and canvases. He engages in critical interactions with historical paintings and plays an active role in securing and creating modern artifacts and materials to replace those depicted in the referenced artwork.  “I try sourcing and getting the actual objects and models into my studio and place them side by side to other objects to have an idea of what the ultimate piece might look like. I deem every process significant since my paintings are nonimaginary.”

Hoggar’s portraits are guided by multi-layered reference photos he creates and are birthed out of priming, sketching onto canvas, painting, and collaging. His brushes widely capture the very essence of nature and reality in a riveting, sensual, and fascinating way. Narrowing the spectrum down to the black man and his subliminal knack for easily getting misunderstood, the issues of the inevitability of death and the transience of earthly achievements are primarily expressed in his art. The synthesis of vibrant colors and animate iconography reflects his truth-inspired sensibility and pays homage to traditional paintings by Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and Hans Holbein.