ARTIST STATEMENT & CLIENT LIST

A proud export of Ghana, His talent and God-given gift was nurtured in his motherland and polished in the United Kingdom. These worlds merge together in his art where traits his African descent and  life in Europe thus far, can be seen as a consistent influence in the narratives of his pieces.

 Koby’s work is an introspective autobiographical exploration of his life which portrays the inclusive human experience of dealing with emotions, memories, thoughts and feelings that we all undeniably feel. Through emotive figures, subjects and abstract forms, he captures beautifully the human essence of both courage and sadness which is a constant theme throughout his work that is expressed in both traditional and digital mediums. Throughout his career, Koby has been responsible for various creative contents on a  global level for artists including Krept & Konan, Wizkid, J Hus, Wretch 32, Chronixx, Tinie Tempah and many more.  

Koby’s also worked with multiple brands on various projects including Nike, Adidas, Universal Music, 0207/DefJam, Barcardi, House Of Marley, Native Magazine, Virgin Records, and Mercedes Benz just to mention a few. The latter of which featured Koby’s artwork painted on a limited edition fleet of Mercedes Smart Cars as well as his own limited watch collaboration with Singaporean luxury brand, LyttLabs. He also recently worked on J Hus’s  clothing line and capsule collection: "The Ugliest"  where he coined the designs for the scarfs and the lining of the jackets.

 He has also gone ahead to have yearly exhibitions since 2014 with various galleries all over the UK and internationally. He's had the opportunity to collaborate with the British Council and The British High Commission; to which he was commissioned to create a live painting at the 2019 Afrochella concert, at the El Wak stadium in Accra, Ghana.

His collaboration in August, 2020 , had him in a live painting session with Tate Collective & My Runway Group called "Home Is Where The Heart Is", where he was commissioned to create a painting which addressed the issue of  overcoming anxiety. In the same year, he further went on to be an ambassador for the legendary, American, streetwear brand Karl Kani; where he was chosen to represent the clothing brand for the campaign "Can I" which was featured by Highesnobiety.

A year later Koby was selected by the Tate to be on an online panel to discuss the exploration of current painting practices. A talk that was inspired by Lynette Yiadom Boakye's paintings and ongoing exhibition at the Tate Britain- 'Fly In The League With The Night'. A few months later, a collaboration between Tate Collective and Bankside London was launched. It involved Koby being commissioned to create his first public art in the Tate Modern Bankside area. The concept of his creation explored the history of performance, theatre and music of the area. His wall piece Spotlight Dreams depicted men who performed as women on stage at a time when women were not allowed to act. He made use of the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol funtunfunefu denkyemfunefu (Siamese Crocodile), which represents unity - an overarching theme if work. The pieces he created were slated to be in the space for twelve months. 

A year later in  April 2022, Koby designed and directed Ghanaian International Artist, Kwesi Arthur’s highly anticipated album ‘Son Of Jacob’ which was curated by Ground Up Chale; a creative house for up and coming talent Ghana.

In 2013, Koby co-founded creative group VVX (VeryVery Xtraordinary)as a platform to exhibit his works and manage his day to dayactivities as an artist. His artwork and various commissions can be purchasedand viewed at Kobmart.co.uk