Derek Fordjour is a multidisciplinary artist who explores themes of performance, ritual, identity, and the Black experience in America. From paintings to sculptures, to installations, his vibrant works give rise to multilayered compositions. Guided by a broad social perspective and a strong awareness of the body’s vulnerability, Fordjour fills his work with athletes, performers, and others who play important roles in cultural traditions and communal milestones. In his paintings, he carefully builds each surface using a collage process with materials like cardboard, newspaper, and various pigments. The resulting textures are rich and layered, matching the complexity and energy of the figures he places on, within, and throughout the compositions.
Fordjour was born in 1974, Memphis, Tennessee to Ghanaian parents. He graduated with a BA from Morehouse College, and a Masters in Art Education at Harvard University, and an MFA in painting from Hunter College where he studied under artist Nari Ward. Fordjour’s work has been exhibited in a variety of institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Royal Collection in London, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. He has also completed public commissions for the High Line and NYC AIDS Memorial. The artist is the recipient of the 2025 Gordon Parks Foundation Artist Fellowship and the 2023 St. Jude Spirit of the Dream Award. Fordjour is also the founder of Contemporary Arts Memphis. A monograph of his work will be published by Phaidon in 2027.