"Elsewhere Within," Vincent Frimpong Solo Exhibition

The Visual Arts Center of Richmond presents Elsewhere Within, an exhibition that explores the transient state of living between worlds. Ghanaian artist Vincent Frimpong reflects on moving to America during the Covid pandemic to pursue his Master’s degree and his continued experience of living between Ghana and the West. Curated by Asa Jackson, this exhibition brings together two bodies of work rooted in reclamation, labor, and transformation.

The Frimpong Case features large-scale textile works made of discarded goods of Western countries to Ghana. Conceived in 2023, Frimpong works with his fellow countrymen to reclaim these materials, transforming what the West has discarded into works of art. The process becomes an act of alchemy, transforming trash into treasure while creating opportunity within his home community.

Masa Abedi continues this transformation through large-scale ceramic works honoring Frimpong’s father, a mechanic. Just as his father restored and manipulated machines, Frimpong manipulates clay, creating vessels reminiscent of the mechanical forms that surrounded his childhood. Anthropomorphized, worn, and scarred, these forms become metaphors for human life: shaped by labor and experience, yet capable of purpose and contribution to forward movement.
About the artist

Photo by Iron Lotus Creative / Stephen Ironside

Vincent Frimpong is a Ghanaian contemporary artist whose work explores labor, migration, and memory through ceramics, sculpture, and installation. Drawing from his experiences living and working across cultures, he examines how objects carry histories of resilience, identity, and human connection.

His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, and the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Japan, where he presented his solo exhibition Dawn on Me. He has also completed artist residencies across the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Frimpong is the recipient of the 2025 NCECA Emerging Artist Award and the Lighton International Artists Exchange Program. He holds an M.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of Arkansas and a B.A. in Industrial Arts from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He is an Assistant Professor of Art at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.