Born in 1968 in Central Ghana, Isaac Azey has been involved with portrait painting, cartoon character inventing, and commercial sign painting since his early teens.  Azey is known in his native Ghana for his photorealistic style and prowess as a sign painter.  In part his personal celebrity is due to his being among the first to incorporate the images of international celebrities into the subject matter of his signs.  At 13 in 1981, Azey was the perfect age to witness the birth of Hip-Hop in America, from afar. American culture, particularly African-American culture and its celebrities, became his fascination.  Even early in his career, the signage he created for outdoor advertising use is often filled with such iconography.

 Mr. Azey uses his keen understanding of how the personality of world leaders drives our perception of political events world-wide.  These images are often both heroic and whimsical, as well as sardonic and serious, creating historical documents about current events from the perspective of one who is both well versed globally, yet at the same time represents a localized sensibility.  Mr. Azey’s amazing technical talent, and his ability to capture a moment in time, bring focus to his cross-cultural interpretations of the world and its celebrities.

Selected Exhibitions:

1993:  “Beds Pots Signs and Doors”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery. Los Angeles, CA

1998:  “Bill and Nelson”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1998: “African Hairways”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1998:  Modernism Art Fair, Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, CA 

1999:  “Kente: Wrapped in Pride”, U.C.L.A. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, CA

1999:  “Kente: Wrapped in Pride”, National Museum of African Art and Anacostia Museum, Washington, D.C.

1999:  “Africa Oceania Europe and Today”, Feldman-Horn Gallery, Harvard-Westlake School, North Hollywood, CA 

1999:  Modernism Art Fair, Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, CA

1999:   Solo Exhibition: “Isaac Azey: from Barber Boards to Praise Portraits and Commentary Paintings”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles

2000:  “Four From Sub-Saharan Africa”, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, CA

2000:  “AfricArts”, Feldman-Horn Gallery, Harvard-Westlake School, North Hollywood, CA

2000:  “Kente: Wrapped in Pride”, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, Michigan 

2000:  “Kente: Wrapped in Pride”, The Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, Alaska

2001:  “Kente: Wrapped in Pride”, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois 

2001:  “Kente: Wrapped in Pride”, The Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA

2002:  “Kente: Wrapped in Pride”, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

2003: 2003: Seven from Ghana, Sundance Film Festival, Park City, UT January 2003

2007:  “Black Like We”, Feldman-Horn Gallery, Harvard-Westlake School, North Hollywood, CA

2009: “Out of Africa: Obama and McCain Praise Portraits and Visual Narratives”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles; Reviewed in the Los Angeles Times on May 21, 1999, by art critic David Pagel

2009: “No This Is It: Michael Jackson, 25 Years of Praise Portraits”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles

2012: “Michael Jackson in the After-Life: Praise Portraits and Commentary Paintings from Ghana”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles

2013: “Viva Mandela!”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles

2014: “Ghana Pop”, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles 

2019 – 2020, Praise Portraits from Ghana: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!, Ernie Wolfe Gallery, Los Angeles

PUBLICATIONS:

1999: Paintings published in El Poder De Narrar, Espi De Art Contemporandi de Castello, Keven Power 

2000:  Poster paintings published in Extreme Canvas: Hand Painted Movie Posters From Ghana, Ernie Wolfe III, Dilettante Press, 2000

2003:  “Cat on Hot Tin Roof”, published in New York Times Magazine, February 23, 2002 

2009: “Power House ‘08”, published in African Arts, Autumn 2009, Volume 42, Number 3

2012: Extreme Canvas 2: The Golden Age of Hand-Painted Movie Posters from Ghana, Ernie Wolfe III, Kesho/Malaika Press, 2012

COLLECTIONS:

Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA, Los Angeles