DADA Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Kofi Perry's work for 1-54 London's 12th edition.

Kofi Perry (b.1998, Sidon) is an American-Iranian contemporary painter whose work and practice reimagines the ancient past through a contemporary Black American perspective. His large-scale, multi-figure narrative paintings, alongside intimate, museal still life compositions, offer a reinterpretation of classicism, drawing from the shared aesthetics of ancient civilisations: anatomical idealisation, round and simple forms and frieze compositions. The featured pieces build on a continuous lore, evoking themes of magic, spirituality and ancient history, intertwined with the austerity of gangsta rap and imagery of the Black Panther Party. Athleticism emerges as a vital symbol of the physical, emotional and psychological resilience required to navigate a predominantly White society as a Black individual. The simultaneously heroic, saintly and militant figures in Perry’s compositions inhabit mythic narratives that allude to climatic and political crises, aiming to inspire and empower Black and Brown creatives for posterity to resist the dystopian realities often imposed upon them.