Addressing contemporary American culture, biblical parables and Ashanti iconography from his native Ghana, Egyir’s work explores questions of ethics, honesty, identity and the social-psychology of community. Monumental, uncanny and often satirically grandiose, the paintings combine the graphic sensuality of Pop Art with the far-reaching narratives of history painting.
The largest painting in the show is Joseph’s Lullaby, a sunny colored 7×9 foot tableau of a family in the midst of a mysterious quandary. The tensions between mother, father, son and viewer are richly ambiguous, but evoke power …