BIO

Bright Kontor Osei (b. 1993, Sunyani, Ghana) is a contemporary artist, educator, and arts administrator whose work weaves academic rigor with lived cultural experience. Now based in the United States, Osei’s art reflects his deep engagement with art history and theory, while also honoring the traditions and narratives that shaped his early life. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from Ohio University (Summa Cum Laude, 2024) and his BA in Art Education from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana (First Class Honors, 2018).

Osei is an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh. Previously, he taught Figure Drawing and Art Foundation courses at Ohio University across three academic years.

His artistic practice explores the everyday lives of street people, using vibrant mixed-media, figurative, and text-based paintings, landscape drawings, documentary videos, and photography. Through this work, he addresses themes of marginalization, identity, place, and labor, particularly within the socio-cultural context of Ghana.

Osei has exhibited at the Kennedy Museum of Art, Ohio University Art Gallery, and Columbus Printed Arts Center. In 2023, he received Ohio University’s Student Enhancement Award (research grant) and won first place in the MFA Exhibition Online by the University of Montana. His work is in prominent private and public collections, including the College of Business at Ohio University and the Kennedy Museum of Art.