Amoako Boafo's first Italian solo show is in Venice until 22 November

You can still see Amoako Boafo's new paintings in Venice, but only until 22 November. This is his first solo show in Italy. It fills the second floor of the Museo di Palazzo Grimani.

Boafo is an artist from Ghana who is known for portraits. He shapes the paint with his fingers, not brushes. For this show he made new works that answer the palace's Renaissance setting and the Venetian portrait tradition. Venice's 61st Biennale runs at the same time. Both close on the same day, 22 November.

Back in January, The Art Newspaper reported the plan. It gives the Biennale dates as 9 May to 22 November. Boafo's gallery, Gagosian, co-organises the show. The paper adds that the new works refer to the palace's architecture.

The context

Gagosian produced the show with the museum, which sits within a group of national archaeology museums in Venice. It also staged a Georg Baselitz show at the museum in 2021. The gallery describes Boafo as inspired by the expressionistic portraits of the Vienna Secession artists Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.

Boafo is based in Accra, the capital of Ghana. There he opened an arts hub with artist residencies, called dot.ateliers. The paper quotes the writer Amah-Rose Abrams, who calls his portraits "joyous".

His auction record is $3.4 million with fees. It was set by his 2018 painting Hands Up, sold at Christie's Hong Kong in 2021.

Planning a visit

The museum's visitor page gives these details. The palace stands in Santa Maria Formosa, the paper notes.

• Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00 to 19.00, with last entry at 18.00.
• Closed on Mondays.
• A full ticket costs €14.
• The address is Castello 4858, Venice.

An afternoon visit still works, since last entry is at 18.00. Plan to skip Monday, when the palace is closed.

Our view

We think the setting is the draw, because the new works answer the palace itself. Portraits that nod to Venetian tradition may look different in a Venetian palace than on a white gallery wall. The museum gives its whole second floor to these new works, so they have room to breathe.

My own attempts at finger painting end with a very confused kitchen wall.

Would you visit?