Prof. Ablade Glover (1934 – )

Ablade Glover combines impasto (application of paint so thickly it becomes three-dimensional) technique with repeated patterns and coherent colour palette to create vivid compositions which appear to be abstract. However, as you gaze into the picture, the patterns resolve, with depth and perspective, into vibrant scenes of Ghanaian life. This approach lends itself to scenes of large open-air spaces e.g. markets, crowds, worship and also landscape. Like many male artists, he also repeatedly paints studies of women, again with confident use of palette knife, and celebrates the strength and energy of women in Ghanaian society.

Glover trained to be a teacher at Kumasi University of Science and Technology. He won a scholarship to study textile design the Central School of Art and Design in London (1959–1962). Kwame Nkrumah himself awarded Glover with a scholarship, which enabled him to study art education at the University of Newcastle on Tyne (1964–1965). He continued his studies at Kent State University (Ohio, USA), where he obtained a master’s degree, and at Ohio State University where he obtained a PhD (1974).

After his PhD, Professor Ablade Glover taught at the College of Art of Kumasi University until 1998, where he became Head of Department and Dean of the School of Fine Arts. Glover received the Flagstar Award from the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ACRAG) in 1998; he was also honoured with the Alumni Award from the African-American Institute in New York. He is a permanent member of the Royal Society of Arts in London.

Glover has exhibited worldwide, including solo shows at October Gallery in London in 2014 and 2024 to celebrate his eightieth and ninetieth birthdays.