AJARB Bernard Ategwa & Larry OTOO: URBAN MARKETS

OOA Gallery presents Urban Markets, a duo exhibition bringing together paintings by Larry Otoo and Ajarb Bernard Ategwa in Sitges, near Barcelona, from 7 November to 20 December 2026.

Drawing on urban experiences in Ghana and Cameroon, the two artists explore the people and activities that give markets their character. Their distinctive approaches to contemporary African painting reveal how colour, movement and everyday encounters shape our understanding of a city.

About the Exhibition

A market offers an intimate introduction to a city. Its character takes shape through the movement of goods, the conversations between traders and the routines of people who return each day. In Urban Markets, these familiar activities become the starting point for two different ways of organising a painted image.

For Ghanaian artist Larry Otoo, the everyday life of Accra provides a sustained source of inspiration. His paintings convey the experience of being among people, allowing individual figures to become part of a larger pattern of activity. Working between figuration and abstraction, he uses layered brushwork and expansive passages of colour to suggest the changing pace of a crowded space.

In Trade Conference (2026), the eye moves between small figures and suggestions of merchandise. Details gradually emerge from the painted surface, encouraging a way of looking that echoes the experience of navigating a busy market. Attention passes from one gathering to another, building a sense of collective presence.

Cameroonian artist Ajarb Bernard Ategwa, who lives and works in Douala, approaches urban life through a graphic language informed by street scenes and popular visual culture. Dark contours, patterned clothing and clearly defined areas of colour give his figures an immediate visual presence.

In Children after (2026), a gathering beneath colourful umbrellas brings human relationships into focus. A nearby football introduces the possibility of play within a setting associated with daily commerce. Such details invite viewers to consider how different activities and generations share the same public space.

Presented together, these works create a dialogue between the wider scene and the particular encounter. Urban Markets explores how markets become places of familiarity and connection, offering a view of contemporary life in Ghana and Cameroon through the close observation of its everyday settings.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition: Urban Markets
Artists: Larry Otoo and Ajarb Bernard Ategwa
Dates: 7 November – 20 December 2026
Venue: OOA Gallery
Address: Carrer Nou 1, 08870 Sitges, Barcelona, Spain

For further information about the exhibition or enquiries about the paintings, please contact OOA Gallery.