Who We Are
ABOUT THE GALLERY
WHAT'S ON NEXT
FOWOKAN GEORGE KELLY
Sculpture and Other Works
Saturday 28th of September to Sunday 13th of October
Three Weekends from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm
Fowokan George Kelly (born 1 April 1943) is a Jamaican-born visual artist who lives in Britain and exhibits using the name "Fowokan" (a Yoruba word meaning: "one who creates with the hand"). He is a largely self-taught artist, who has been practising sculpture since 1980. His work is full of the ambivalence he sees in the deep-rooted spiritual and mental conflict between the African and the European. Fowokan's work is rooted in the traditions of pre-colonial Africa and ancient Egypt rather than the Greco-Roman art of the west. He has also been a jeweller, essayist, poet[2] and musician (a former member of the funk group Cymande in the early 1970s).
In 2011 Fowokan featured in "Better than Good", an arts education initiative to highlight the achievements of Black artists in Britain. His work was shown prominently in the exhibition No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960–1990, held at the Guildhall Art Gallery between July 2015 and January 2016.
The biography Becoming Fowokan: The Life and Works of Fowokan George Kelly, by Margaret Andrews, was published in January 2022.
White Box is a community art gallery space for selected artists to show their work. It is intended as a focus of interest for the people of Blackheath and for the wider world of art enthusiasts. We select a broad spectrum of art practices, something different from exhibition to exhibition, by committed artists. Prints, sculpture, painting, ceramics, performance and photographic works have all been hosted at White Box. The Gallery is run by Frances and Graham High who are themselves practising artists.