Class of 2020: At such a time as this

Conrad Egyir

In partnership with Jessica Silverman, Class of 2020: At Such a Time as This is centered on the subjects; real, yet semi-fictionalized and how they collectively endure and maintain a level of sustenance throughout the course and great hiccups of 2020. The paintings create a space and sense of hope, documenting some of the political, global health and social changes that have transpired this year. The text above reads as an “overture,” a musical term relating to an opera, play or composition prequel or introduction. This is used in light of the paintings serving as teasers for the physical show that’s slated to take place at UTA Artist Space in 2021.

Conrad Egyir (b. 1989, Accra, Ghana) received his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2018 and completed the Ox-Bow School of Arts and Artist Residency in Saugatuck, MI in the same year. He has also been awarded residencies by ACRE (Artists’ Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions), Vermont Studio Center, and The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn. His work is in the permanent collections of: Cranbrook Art Museum (Bloomfield Hills, MI); Pérez Art Museum Miami; Rennie Collection; Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena; and the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection. In 2020, he enjoyed his first institutional solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD). Egyir lives and works in Detroit. He is represented by Jessica Silverman.

“I was thinking about the restlessness of the little earthbound figures below and the assurance and stability the central larger figure exudes. The main characters poised in their graduation gown is a nod to those who graduated this year and a reflection of the chaos and uncertainty of completing their degrees that ensued at the dawn of the pandemic. It is figurative and yet symbolic of how all others participate in the steep learning curve this year has caused.”

“These figures are centralized and reassuring in their poses. They rest above a page that is revealed by the folding and circular stamp-like motif. Text and content being teased are snippets/memoirs of the past and the future in regards to 2020.”