George Hughes also known as Kwesi Afedzi is a Ghanaian-born American artist specializing in painting, poetry and performance art. He received his Masters in Art Education at The College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.(1992) He received his Master in Fine Arts in Painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 at Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...

, Bowling Green, Ohio.(2001)

Hughes' paintings and performance art

Performance art

In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...

 works have been exhibited internationally in Europe, Africa and America. His work references violence and tragedy of colonialism

Colonialism

Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...

 juxtaposed with contemporary global conflicts. His performance art works are interdisciplinary, combining ritual

Ritual

A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....

, poetry, sound effects, video

Video

Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

, and allegorical configurations. His large paintings feature human and animal body parts combined with commercial signage

Signage

Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.-History:...

 and global symbols. His two dimensional works are assemblages often incorporating toys and small robots.

He is represented in Switzerland, Germany, Luxemburg, and Austria by Artco Gallery based in Herzogenrath, Germany.http://www.artco-ac.de/index.php
In Portugal he is affiliated with Influx Contemporary Art Gallery, based in lisbon, Portugal.http://www.influxcontemporary.com/george-hughes.htm
In Africa he is represented by Artists Alliance Gallery, located in Accra, Ghana.http://www.artistsallianz.com/artist-profile.php?artistID=6