Isaac Kobla Gavor’s paintings are inspired by the people and rich cultures of Ghana, West Africa. Landscapes and still lifes of vivid colors are inspired by the traditions, beliefs, and daily ways of life in a land where time moves more slowly and that which benefits the community is valued above all else.

Gavor’s purpose is to educate views about Africa. The viewer learns that there is much to be done to eliminate poverty, hunger, suffering, corruption and to improve education and healthcare. At the same time, Africa’s great beauty and the strength and spirit of her people shine through in his works. He draws from the styles of Abstract art, Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism to convey his message.

Isaac Kobla Gavor was born in 1984 in the village of Vakpo, located in Ghana’s Volta Region. Starting at age six, Isaac helped support himself and his family by farming and harvesting maize, cassava, yam and beets. The local primary school offered a drawing period and exposed Isaac to illustrations in storybooks and newspapers. Isaac’s love for drawing began and if he was not drawing at school, he was sketching at home. Art materials were not readily available in Vakpo, so Isaac collected charcoal from burned firewood and his mother brought cardboard from the local market on which her son could draw. At age sixteen, Isaac saw a painting of an African woman holding a baby on her back and balancing a pot on top of her head. Village life in Ghana’s Volta region inspired sketching of clay houses, trees, fishes, figures, festivals, chieftaincy rituals, farming and childrearing.

In 2005, for a public artworks project at Volta Regional Hospital in Ho, Ghana, Isaac completed seventy paintings to adorn the wall of the children’s ward. Isaac donated ten paintings to the headquarters of Cross Cultural Solutions, a nonprofit organization located in Hohoe, Ghana. He donated paintings to offices in three other towns for all staff, international volunteers, and visitors to enjoy.

In 2004, Isaac graduated from Senyo Art Works in Ho, Ghana. Following his graduation from Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Accra in 2008, he immigrated to the United States. He resides in Pasadena, California.

Gavor’s paintings are in private collections in Canada, England, Ghana and the United States.