Celebrated contemporary Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo has had quite an upward trajectory through the art world in a space of two years--his works were recently acquired by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Albertina Museum Vienna, and Rubell Museum; he was featured among emerging leaders in the TIME 100 Next 2021; and he became an ambassador for Dior as the first African to work with the fashion house. Now, his painting is going to space this fall.

It was announced on Thursday, July 29, that Uplift Aerospace, an aerospace company specializing in “technologies for a multi-planetary economy” has commissioned the 37-year-old Ghanaian figurative painter to create a triptych on one of Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rockets. The one of its kind "Suborbital Triptych" is a three-panel painting that will fly into space on the outside of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.

Lifting off on an uncrewed flight, Boafo's Suborbital Triptych will be applied directly to three carbon-fiber panels that will cover the parachutes used to return Blue Origin's space capsule to the ground. Included in the preliminary stage of the program is an announcement by Uplift for some beneficiaries chosen by Boafo to share in the spotlight and accept Uplift's donation at a ceremony planned for after the Suborbital Triptych returns to Earth.

"To create a painting that will launch into space is unimaginable, and frankly surreal," said Boafo, in a chat with Space.com about his selection for the Uplift Art Program. "I wish one day to experience what my characters will see."

"It is an honor to be invited to a project of this latitude," he added.

Uplift Aerospace, which announced its partnership with Blue Origin in September 2020, is also planning to use Boafo's Suborbital Triptych to raise awareness and funds for charities that it and the artist supports. In conjunction with Boafo's artwork, Uplift will make a charitable contribution to nonprofit organizations with a focus on supporting conservation and healthcare for all.

"The profound strength of Amoako's portraits for the first Suborbital Triptych will bring another dimension to the power that propels the New Shepard rocket," Josh Hanes, chief executive of Uplift Aerospace, said in a statement.

"Artists have a unique capacity to evoke fresh perspectives and interpret unfamiliar terrain," continued Hanes. "The purpose of the Uplift Art Program is to inspire new ideas and generate dialogue by making space accessible and connected to human experiences."

Boafo's painting mixes brushwork with finger and hand-painting to capture the mood of his subjects — creatives, friends, and other members of his social circle who inspire him. His portraits, which have been celebrated for his approach to shaping the Black form, have gone from being almost unheard of to selling for more than $1 million at Christie's within a short period.