Courtenay Kusitor

My work is a meditation on consciousness and the ever-moving experience of being. Through abstraction, AI, digital, colour, and gesture, I explore the intangible, mapping the space between thought, form and movement. Using a combination of oil paints and inks on heavy handmade cotton rag or canvas, my traditional painting reflects my inner and outer awareness - a visual expression of how energy moves through and around us, shaping our perceptions of reality.

As a trained graphic designer and a lover of new tech, sci-fi and surrealism, my practice is steeped in experimentation. My digital art and AI works run concurrently with my traditional painting practice.

After being unconscious for three minutes following a life-threatening accident, my practice became an act of faith in the unknown. My work evolves rapidly, often shaped by the thoughts and themes occupying me at any given moment. During my recovery from the severe head and spine injury, I spent nearly a year immersed in TED Talks, audiobooks, and podcasts - a ritual that remains central to my creative process. These audio explorations continue to influence my works, both in tone and in the titles they bear.

My love of colour is deeply rooted in my Ghanaian heritage. Kente cloths, vibrant and symbolic, left a lasting impression on me as a child, especially when worn by my relatives. This influence is evident in the way I select and apply colour in my practice today, mostly vivid, saturated and contrasting.

Through powerful thoughts, gestural mark making and bold, emotive colour palettes, my aim is to create arresting visual spaces that invite presence. I hope that viewers may, even momentarily, connect with the raw aliveness my work seeks to embody - all around the subject of consciousness.

My work has also been acknowledged by American Pulitzer Prize Winning Art Critic Jerry Saltz, who has liked and commented on my art. My work is held in private collections in the UK, USA and UAE.