At a time when identity is often packaged, filtered, and commodified, Ghanaian artist Kwesi Botchway offers a refreshing alternative: authenticity.
His latest solo exhibition, Be Your Own Cool, opens on July 19 at Vielmetter Los Angeles, inviting viewers to pause, reflect, and reconsider what it truly means to be yourself.
On view through September 13, this body of work, his second solo presentation with the gallery, marks a gentle but powerful evolution in Botchway’s artistic journey.
Created during a residency in Los Angeles earlier this year, the new paintings take a more introspective turn, shifting in both scale and mood, while staying true to his signature celebration of Black identity.
The title Be Your Own Cool isn’t just a curatorial phrase, it’s a quiet philosophy that pulses through every canvas. Botchway’s subjects are captured in intimate, reflective moments: gazes are soft, poses relaxed, expressions unforced. They aren’t performing for the viewer. They’re simply being—in all their individuality and quiet dignity.
Set against serene pastel backgrounds, these figures radiate self-assured calm. Their hairstyles, clothing, and accessories—deeply rooted in contemporary Black culture—are proudly on display, not as fashion statements, but as affirmations. The choice of dress becomes a kind of language, an unspoken declaration of identity.
In an art world often dominated by grandeur and spectacle, Botchway’s paintings feel deeply personal. Each portrait gently encourages the viewer to ask: What does my version of “cool” look like? And is it truly my own?
Among the works featured is a striking group of fifteen smaller portraits titled “Community of Freedom Fighters”. Here, Botchway shifts the focus from personal style to collective strength, paying homage to individuals—past and present, whose ideologies have shaped community, culture, and resistance.
Whether through large-scale portraits or compact tributes, Botchway’s message is clear: self-expression is a form of power. Not the loud, showy kind—but a quiet, grounded strength that comes from knowing who you are and honoring that, unapologetically.
Born in Accra in 1994, Botchway studied at the Ghanatta College of Art and Design before continuing at the Academy of Visual Arts in Frankfurt.
He now works between Ghana and Belgium, and is also the founder of Worldfaze Art Practice, a residency space in Accra that supports young Ghanaian artists.
His international career has seen exhibitions in Denmark, the UK, Belgium, and the U.S., with works housed in major collections including the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Israel Museum in Tel Aviv.
Yet, for all his global acclaim, Botchway remains grounded in his core mission: using art to affirm, uplift, and humanize the Black experience.
