Alfred Amadu Conteh is an American sculptor, painter and mixed-media artist.
Biography
Alfred Amadu Conteh was born in 1975 in Fort Valley, Georgia. He attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, where he received a BFA. He received his MFA from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. His mother is African American and his father is from Sierra Leone, West Africa. Many of his works examine his personal identity through his parents' experiences and cultural differences. Along with paintings, Conteh creates organic contemporary sculpture that uses symbology to express his narratives of the African American southern experience." Conteh uses a variety of media as a vehicle to provoke thought that will result in change." Recently he took part in , a virtual exhibition from June 9- July 3, 2020. The show features works from 12 emerging Black artists and is curated by , the owner of Baltimore based gallery, . hosted by , Beverly Hills, CA.
Career
Alfred Amadu Conteh began exhibiting in 2003 and since then he has participated in over 12 solo exhibitions and many group exhibitions. Conteh's work has caused controversial responses in some instances. His exhibition at Tubman Museum in 2015 in Macon, Georgia, caused a stir among-st religious leaders who found his piece "Preacher Pimp" offensive. "Conteh's "pimp" series features a variety of people and their wrongdoings to others. Among those included are the "Athlete Pimp," “Property-Owning Pimp" and "Mother Pimp." The series highlights the dark side of how we interact with others and treat them, Conteh said. "Preacher Pimp" reflects the religious leaders whose actions are unethical but isn't representative of all of church leaders, Conteh said." Alfred Conteh's recent series, "Two Fronts", is a visual exploration of how people of the African Diaspora in the South are facing economic, educational, and psychological wars. His recent exhibition at September Gray Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, garnered critical review from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Conteh’s treatment of his subjects affirms the centrality of these people as representatives of the human condition: the mothers and workers and children and hustlers as worthy of their own commemoration." Alfred Amadu Conteh has gained a national following. He has exhibited at several museums and galleries including, Tubman Museum in Macon, Georgia, Museum of Arts an Sciences, Hudgens Center for the Arts, and Art Basel Miami. His work has been collected and exhibited widely throughout the South." In 2018, Conteh was commissioned by the to create a portrait of film director, producer, and screenwriter Ryan Coogler. The portrait titled is featured in the traveling exhibit Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth. The exhibit pays tribute to African American change makers for their outstanding legacy and contributions. Conteh’s work in the permanent collections of the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR; Bajeel Art Foundation, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN; , Macon, GA; , Ashbury, NJ; , Macon, GA; , Statesboro, GA; Hammonds House Museum Permanent Collection, Atlanta, GA; United Talent Agency, Beverly Hills, CA; and United Way Corporate Collection, Atlanta, GA
Highlighted Exhibition
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 Two Fronts: Surface and Reason, September Gray Fine Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA, Curator Jeremiah Ojo 2016 Two Fronts: Works on Paper, Hearne Fine Art Gallery, Little Rock, AR, Curator Garbo Hearne 2014 Bitter Medicines, Sweet Poisons, Zucot Gallery, Atlanta, GA, Curator Onaje Henderson 2012 Alfred Conteh, Selected Works, Harriet Tubman Museum, Macon, GA, Curator Jeff Bruce GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 The Figure in Solitude, Kavi Gupta Gallery,Chicago, IL Community, Moseley Gallery, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD, Curator Susan M. Holt 2019 Men of Change, Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition Building Bridges II: The Politics of Love, Identity and Race,13th Havana Biennial, Galerie Carmen Montilla, Havana, Cuba, Curators: and Ana Joa Black Face,, Baltimore, MD Scope International Art Fair, Miami Basel, Miami, FL, Galerie Myrtis 2018If Not Now, When?, September Gray Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA 5 Perspectives, Steffan Thomas Museum of Art, Madison, GA, Curator Judith Barber Portraits of Who We Are, David C. Driskell Center, College Park, MD, Curator Dorit Yaron 2017 Respondez S'il Vous Plait, Hammond House Museum, Atlanta, GA Curator Leatrice Ellzy Urban Revival, RJD Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY Curator Eve Gianni Bitter/Sweet, , Atlanta, GA, Curator Dr. Maurita Poole 2016 Double Consciousness: A History of Unhealed Wounds, Zucot Gallery, Atlanta, GA Curator Onaje Henderson
