Larry Otoo was born in Ghana in 1958. As a child, he made charcoal drawings on the walls of his family home, for which he was duly punished by his grandfather. He attended the Art College of the university in Kumasi, against the wishes of his father who wanted him to become an economist.
He left the university after achieving his Masters Degree in African Art. According to Larry, it was important during that period to push the academic rules aside to a certain extent in order to be able to develop his own style.
Larry does not consider himself a political, but rather a social commentator. He gathers inspiration from the lives of ordinary Ghanaians. 'I paint what is around me'.
Music also forms a great source of inspiration for him. It is almost tangible in the abstract rhythm with which Otoo paints the musicians.
Otoo has also developed an abstract style, under the influence of the many foreign travels that he has undertaken. Because art education in Ghana is based on British realist art education, abstract paintings were considered not done for quite a long time.
'I believe with time, there will be a shift from realistic painting to more abstract painting. Abstract is a form that permeates every society. It is universal'.