Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe

Russo Lee Gallery is pleased to present A Place I Call Home, an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, marking the artist’s first solo show in Portland, Oregon.

Quaicoe delves deeply into themes of empowerment, intimacy, and identity, set against the vibrant backdrop of Portland, Oregon, where he lives and works. Through luminous and emotive portraiture, Quaicoe invites viewers into the personal worlds of his subjects—friends and collaborators—capturing the warmth of their connections and the character of their shared home state.

This new body of work includes large-scale paintings and smaller still lifes, unified by a vivid color palette inspired by Oregon’s diverse natural environment, as well as charcoal drawings that not only reflect each subject’s individuality but also reveal Quaicoe’s own perspective and personal bond with them.

Expanding beyond the canvas, Quaicoe’s passion for botany comes to life through curated plant installations interwoven throughout the exhibition space. For the first time, viewers will also experience a replica of Quaicoe’s studio, offering an immersive and rare glimpse into the artist’s daily work routine and creative process.

Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe was born in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. He attended the Ghanatta College of Art & Design for Fine Art, with a focus on painting. His work is in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC; Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; and the Fogg Museum at Harvard, Cambridge, MA. Quaicoe has exhibited internationally since 2017, and has had numerous exhibitions including Otis Quaicoe: (s)kin deep, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, OR; BLACK RODEO: Cowboys of the 21st Century, Almine Rech, Brussels, Belgium; Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe: February 2021 Artist-in-Residence, Rubell Museum, Miami, FL; and ONE BUT TWO (Haadzii), Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA. Select group exhibitions include Accra! The Rise of a Global Art Community, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH; When We See Us, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa; Outriders: Legacy of the Black Cowboy, Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM; Black American Portraits, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; BLACK BODIES, WHITE SPACES: INVISIBILITY & HYPERVISIBILITY, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX; Ontology, Ross & Kramer, New York, NY; The Show Will Go On, Nassima Landau, Tel Aviv, Israel; Life in Flowers, Luce Gallery, Turin, Italy; and Salon de Peinture, Almine Rech, New York, NY, among others.

Artist Statement 2025

A Place I Call Home

June 5 – 28, 2025

Press Release