Daniel Arnan Quarshie - Reserve of Dead White

Exhibition at the Alte Schmelze

Former scholarship holder Daniel Arnan Quarshie will present his artworks in the exhibition ‘Reserve of Dead White’ in the Alte Schmelze from 6 to 29 September 2024.

An artist talk will take place on 28 September 2024 at 17:00.

Inspired by the vanitas paintings of the old masters, the exhibition is a haunting exploration of the transience of life. The artworks focus on the life cycle of clothing as a metaphor for life and the body. Daniel Arnan Quarshie pays particular attention to used and discarded items of clothing, which serve as evidence of the passing of time and as carriers of the stories and memories of their former owners.

Curated by Jacqueline Jakobi.

Biography

Daniel Arnan Quarshie is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans drawing, installation, sculpture and sound. His practice emerged as an attempt to redefine drawing as a medium to parallel painting and sculpture. His work deals with social themes such as death, loss, absence, memory and the passage of time, and engages the politics of capitalism, labour, overconsumption and environmental degradation. He continuously challenges his medium by borrowing from the mundane to investigate composition, form, scale and display formats.

Born and raised in Ghana, Quarshie holds a BFA in Painting and Sculpture from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, and is currently pursuing his MFA in the same department. Quarshie participated in “documenta fifteen” and “Gasthof22” as a representative of blaxTARLINES, Kumasi. He was a resident artist in Gallery 1957 from 2022 to 2023 and the first participant of “Frankfurt Moves!”, an artist exchange and residency programme initiated by KfW Stiftung in cooperation with Städelschule, Frankfurt, and in collaboration with KNUST, Kumasi (2023-2024). Quarshie has participated in group exhibitions such as “Unlimited”, 2022, Gallery 1957, Accra, “Unlimited II”, 2023, Gallery 1957, Accra, “Silent Invasions: The Art of Material Hacking”, 2023, Amasaka Gallery, Masaka, and “The Dialogue”, ART X Lagos 2023, Lagos. His solo exhibitions include “Sympathetic Magic”, 2023, Gallery 1957, Accra and “Home”, 2023, Compound House Gallery, Kumasi.

Frankfurt Moves!

Daniel Arnan Quarshie studied at the Städelschule in Frankfurt for six months as part of the KfW Stiftung's Frankfurt Moves! programme. Frankfurt Moves! is an initiative of KfW Stiftung to promote international emerging artists through intercultural dialogue. The residency programme in cooperation with the Städelschule in Frankfurt and in collaboration with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi promotes international emerging artists in the visual arts.

Image Credits:

01. Daniel Quarshie, 2024, Detail, Photo: Augustine Paredes
02. Flyer "Reserve of Dead White", Daniel Quarshie, 2024, Grafic Design: Bernard Kofi Ansah
03. Daniel Quarshie, 2024, Photo: Augustine Paredes
04. Daniel Quarshie, 2024, Detail, Photo: Augustine Paredes
05. Daniel Quarshie, 2024, Detail, Photo: Augustine Paredes