Eugene Ofori Agyei: Fihankra (You Did Not Say Goodbye When You Left Home)

Eugene Agyei arrived at Alfred University in 2023, chosen by the Division of Ceramic Art faculty  as the Turner Teaching Fellow in the School of Art & Design at the New York State College of Ceramics. Over the course of the following years, he formed a bond with the students, faculty and entire community, all the while developing his own complex body of work. In this exhibition, Agyei borrows from the tradition of Adinkra symbolism, native to his homeland of Ghana, in which a single symbol can express a range of complex ideas. These symbols form the starting point, but then mutate and transform into rich “assemblage” works incorporating fabric, wool, and wood in which formal and material considerations are given priority over direct symbolism.