Opening at Galerie Perrotin in Paris, "FEMMES" represents Pharrell Williams' powerful return to curatorial work, marking his first group exhibition since 2014's "G I R L." Running from March 20 to April 19, 2025, this ambitious showcase brings together up to 40 international artists in both a personal tribute and a broader cultural statement. Curated collaboratively by Williams and Emmanuel Perrotin, Black womanhood - a subject often dismissed and rarely celebrated, takes up center stage in this gathering, and gets retold creatively through the likes of Nina Chanel Abney, Gabriel Moses, Prince Gyasi and many more.
We sat down with one of its exhibitors, Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, via. Zoom calls to discuss his personal journey towards this once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of an group exhibition curated by Pharrell Williams.
Hello Otis, would you like to introduce yourself?
My name is Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe. Born and raised in Ghana and I now reside in the United States of America. I’ve been here for close to 8 years now. This is where I have my studio and work. My home is here and that’s pretty much all I can say about myself [laugh].
Would you mind telling us where in America you are based?
I am based in Portland, Oregon. It is just two hours from Seattle.
Let’s just start from the beginning; tell us a little bit about your upbringing in Ghana?
Just a typical Ghanaian upbringing. I am from a christian family and the fourth born of Seven. I’m the only artist in my family! As you grow there, you also find your own path and you start understanding life. My love for art started at an early age. My love for magazines, especially the EBONY magazine, where you have all of the Hip-Hop stars and all of that. But I discovered art through movie theaters as well, where I saw a bunch of street art and such. It drew my attention, the interest was there and so, I started to play with colours. I didn’t know what I was doing but I just loved the fact that you can create something with colours and the freedom and everything you get from it. The love continued to grow and then, fast forward, I just found out about an art school program, and decided to pursue it full-time and see where it leads me.
Funny enough, during art school, I was not into portraits and figurative art at all. It was mostly abstract and landscaping but figurative art started growing when the world became more digitized. I took an interest in photography and started taking photos of people, and that’s where it connected to me. My parents were very supportive of my career from the beginning because my dad is a musician and a creative person. My mom does a lot of ceramic and is also into hairstyling. They even edged me into doing it full-time because I was also working as a graphic designer but my dad was like; “If you love art, just focus on one thing. Save up money, quit your job and just go for it!”. I’m always thankful for his advice wherever I am in life.
It’s definitely not something you would hear often from African parents and so, it is lovely to hear. I’m curious, when does the US come into the picture?
I have always been curious about the rest of the world. Curiosity is always where I find my breakthrough, sort of like a kid as we know how toddlers tend to learn. You told them not to go there but they always want to know the reason why you’re telling them not to. Leaving Ghana and living here helped shape me as a person. You learn two different cultures, it opens your eyes to other things you have always been wondering about. The upbringing back home and living here, the two cultures blended together just create a whole new kind of person and artist. Everyday is a learning process.
You’ve exhibited in quite a vast range of continents. Recently, you’ve been acquired for a new group exhibition and an exciting one; FEMMES. Walk us through the journey; how does one get invited by Pharrell Williams for such an opportunity?
I know right! I think it always leads back to your resume. Honestly, I’m always surprised when this kind of invitation is sent to me because when I see an email like that, the first thing that comes to mind is I always think it is a scam [laugh]. I usually don’t respond to it immediately, google the email and try to find out if this is legit. I always tell people I still see myself as an emerging artist, even though I am getting all of this attention. For me, I always think that I'm not where I want to be just yet.
So when these types of opportunities come my way, it just takes me by surprise. There are a whole bunch of artists, why did they come to that conclusion? But again, as you sit back, you realize it comes from one's resume. You are so caught up in the moment that you forget that you’ve done so much in the past that leaves a trace behind all of the good work that you have done. I am always appreciative that the work I’ve done in the past years, gets to be recognized and they see my contribution.
We’ve all seen the artists list by now and there are a couple of names that come to mind such as Gabriel Moses and Prince Gyasi. What does this mean for you personally to be brought into the world stage as a Ghanaian and the community that you come from?
It’s a huge thing for my country, for my community, even though funny enough, they usually don’t tend to recognize all of this is happening. Ghana is still slowly developing but it is not fully acknowledged by the government. To see what me, my colleagues and other artists are doing outside of the continent. I remember years back in school where me and my colleagues used to sit down and we told ourselves one day we would exhibit in great places, we would be among the best and all. When that starts to unfold, then your mind just goes back to when you started all of this and you begin to ponder like wow, this is really happening.
It means a whole lot to the black artists, African artists too as respect has not been put on us. Our art was for long not considered valuable. So it’s really important to be a part of these shows and be recognized as one of the best also.
Now this will bring us to the theme Femmes as it is women’s month, however, in particular, the exhibition focuses on black womanhood. What does it all mean to you?
If you’re telling me what black women mean to me, my mom is an black woman and an African woman. Growing up in Ghana, I’ve seen the struggle that my mother went through, I’ve seen the pain, the tears, the heartbreaks, making sure that her kids are well fed and have the best of life. I look at it from this perspective and then intertwine it with other black women you meet that also do their own thing in their own ways. From the world’s perspective in terms of me being here and how black women are being treated in workplaces, at home facing abuse and going through silent battles. What I embrace is their beauty, their intelligence, their figure and such. It even goes back in history when black women’s bodies were seen as something monstrous. When in reality, black women are the embodiment of what we all are.
Speaking of your personal work that will be exhibited, is there any exclusive detail you can share with us? Which pieces have you or Pharrell the curator chosen to represent black womanhood?
I chose two pieces. One is almost like a reflection of the old renaissance paintings, where you see this nude magnificent woman with a cloth and flowers entangled in their hair. I redid my own version of such by painting a black woman and for me, it was important to do so because in most of the museums I have visited, I’ve never seen a person that looks like me or a black woman in a peculiar pose. Even though they are half-naked, you wouldn’t even look at their nakedness. It is just recreating history and pushing black bodies in a way that has never been seen before or in a way that you have never thought possible to see a black woman in such a position and environment.
The second piece is the same figure but this time, she’s more relaxed seated on a couch. But also, pulling you in as there is a sunflower nearby. When you see the painting, it is to project the confidence in her body and how she feels about herself. The way she’s looking at you draws you in, and tells you that this person is unapologetically confident in her body and who she is as a person. The sunflower softens her environment and symbolizes the humility of the person. This is to embrace the beauty of the black woman’s body and also, not to sexualize as we always see. Just to embrace the beauty and confidence of the human in the painting.
I think it is important to bring up the current political climate of the world, where in many places including Europe, the face of immigrants is being combated. That includes African immigrants. In contrast to that reality, you have exhibitions where the black portrayal seems profitable and prestigious. What do you make of this phenomenon?
This has been a long struggle and as long as there are people that think of others as less, there will still be this around the world. So far as institutions that show black arts and people of all colours, Africans supporting Africans, black artists supporting black artists, we must keep pushing forward. Over the years, it reached its peak when the murder of George Floyd and protests happened. You can also tell that it has dialed down again. It is just a matter of supporting each other and keep pushing forward because threats against immigration will always be there, all we have to do is keep pushing and keep pushing to suppress all of this down.
As a final question, there is only a couple of weeks left and the group exhibition shall begin. What is something you want people to be aware of and take away?
To recognize each artist of the show and once they leave the gallery, just remember what the show was about. They are not just looking at black women, but how far we’ve come and the deeper meaning behind the exhibition. Look closely at the paintings, there are clues you may find.
