The Imaginative and The Real by Gilou Bauer

The Mutual Gallery and Art Centre Ltd. presents

The

Imaginative and

The

Real

23 November - 3 January 2012

THE IMAGINATIVE AND THE REAL The Mutual Gallery is pleased to present representational painting where viewers are within a piece of art, be it an object or objects, were invited to participate in the exhibition representational style.

a new platform in the wide field of able to recognize various components a landscape or a figure. The artists who are well known for their work in the

What is possibly outside the norm is to show a wide selection of genres in one exhibition. The background influences of the paintings differ significantly as some artists paint in the genre of Photographic Realism where the treatment of forms, colour and space emphasize their connection to the actual visual experience. At the other end of the spectrum is Imaginary Realism, a field that has increasingly gained predominance in contemporary expressions encompassing Magical Realism, Fantastic Realism, Surrealism and Visionary Realism. Imaginary realism is characterized by sublime fantasy worlds, executed in a highly detailed technical style reminiscent of the old masters. The six artists in the exhibition have received extensive training in classical and contemporary techniques which they have applied to their paintings. This has earned each artist a renown which has extended nationally and internationally through exhibitions in galleries and museums locally and abroad and a presence in national and private collections.

GILOU BAUER

AMY LASKIN

-4

ANDREA HAYNES-PEART - 6 TINA SPIRO

-8

KACEY FERGUSON

- 10

MARISA WILLOUGHBY

- 12

SAMERE TANSLEY

- 14

Photographs Kacey Ferguson, Andrea Haynes-Peart (Poppy Show) - Gilou Bauer Amy Laskin - Franz Marzouca Andrea Haynes-Peart (The Legend of the White Witch), Tina Spiro, Marisa Willoughby Holland, Samere Tansley - The Artist

AMY LASKIN AMY LASKIN practically grew up at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her mom enrolled her in art classes at the museum, when she was 7 years old. Her art classes at the museum continued till she went to college. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University, specializing in ceramic sculpture in 1977 and continued to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for her Masters of Fine Arts, with her focus drifting over to painting. Amy arrived in Jamaica in 1986 and knew immediately that this place had the stuff that would inspire her painting. She had her first solo exhibition in Kingston in 1989 and has continued showing her work in Jamaica and in other galleries abroad. She has been able to give painting her full and undivided attention for the past 25 years which has given her the opportunity to perfect her skills and focus her intentions. The work in her paintings initially stems from something she sees that she thinks is in some way beautiful or incredible and sparks a personal interest. She internalizes it, interprets the forms so the outcome is personal and individualistic. She loves to embellish and pays extraordinary attention to detail. She wants her paintings to be beautiful and to leave her viewers with strong feelings that they can remember.

ARTIST STATEMENT I'm inspired by my beautiful surroundings, and I hope to convey to my viewers the sense of awe I feel when I take it in. I want my viewers to feel uplifted and perhaps appreciate things in a slightly different way. I hope to be among a set of people who help to raise consciousness and spirituality through beauty and inspiration, and a higher awareness.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2002 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1990 1990 1989 1987

Olympia Art Centre Gallery; Kingston, Jamaica “New Works” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston, Jamaica “Next Step” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston, Jamaica “Realizations” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston, Jamaica “Jamaican Earth” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston Jamaica “New Oils” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston Jamaica “Double Visions” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston Jamaica “Jamaica Botanica” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston Jamaica “Jungle Series” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston Jamaica “Snap Out of It” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston Jamaica “Spotlight: Amy Laskin-Tropical Paradise” Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College; Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA Bolivar Gallery; Kingston Jamaica “Floral Exhibition” & “Works by Women” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston, Jamaica “Illumination Landscape” Chelsea Galleries; Kingston, Jamaica National Gallery of Jamaica Annual National Exhibition; Kingston, Jamaica National Gallery of Jamaica Annual National Exhibition; Kingston, Jamaica 4

The Legend of White Witch

Lace is More

The Onlooker 5

ANDREA HAYNES-PEART Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1964, Andrea Haynes-Peart grew up both in the Bahamas and Kingston. She studied Fine Arts from 1983-1988 at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada and has exhibited in Jamaica and abroad since 1991. She has also illustrated 10 children's books to date. Formally trained as an illustrator and fine artist, Andrea studied both classical and contemporary techniques from egg tempera to acrylic and oil. She also studied computer graphics at a time when the medium was just emerging. Andrea has moved from acrylics to oils and has now added digital oil painting to her repertoire. She considers this a new and exciting technique in improving the art of image making. Her work exudes a delicate sensuality and a lyrical realism with religious attention to detail. She communicates through the use of allegory and a universal iconography so that her work can be appreciated on a variety of levels. In 2009 she won the Jamaica Digital Arts Festival Competition and currently lectures at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. She lives and works in Kingston, Jamaica.

ARTIST STATEMENT The pieces in the show all share a colonial theme. Collectively they span over two hundred years of Jamaican history, starting with the Spanish in the early sixteen hundreds and ending with the English in the early eighteen hundreds. I paint using either digital 'oil' or traditional oil. When painting in digital 'oil', I use software specifically designed by painters for painters which mimics the effects of traditional oil painting. It allows you to do everything from designing your own brushes to painting in impasto. My computer is powered by the sun, hence the term 'Solar Powered Digital Oil.' When painting in traditional oil, I prefer to paint on specially prepared hardboard using methods passed down from the Renaissance. Both styles employ the use of allegory and a universal iconography in expressing the narrative.

Major Exhibitions 1991-92 1995 2004 2006 2006 2008

Annual National Exhibition, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica “Young Talent”, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica National Biennial, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica National Biennial, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica “Signs”, solo exhibition, Kingston, Jamaica National Biennial, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica

Awards 2009

Jamaica Digital Artist of the Year

The Legend of White Witch

Poppy Show 7

TINA SPIRO TINA SPIRO is a New York born artist who began her artistic career as the protégé of American sculptor David Smith while she was still an undergraduate student at Skidmore College. She obtained her MFA from Pratt Institute and began her teaching career at Hunter College in NYC. She moved to Jamaica, WI in 1969 and became one of the foremost artists in the Caribbean. She spent a decade in Miami, Florida from 1999-2009, where she distinguished herself as both an artist and professor of art. She returned to live in Jamaica in 2009, where she continues to paint full time in her home and studio overlooking the Caribbean Sea. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, and was cited by New York art critic Velerie Gladstone as “One of the most important artists of her generation.”

ARTIST STATEMENT My new series of portraits of friends, family and persons I admire is a new direction in my work. I came to the realization that people needed to see themselves in the picture to understand their own role in society. Additionally, I have wanted to do portraits since my art student days, but had no previous instruction in this particular specialty. I embarked on a series of portraits of friends, family, and “luminaries” (in the sense that they shine from both without and within), casting each subject in the role of an appropriate portrait from art history. I then re-create the portrait from art history using the features of the contemporary personality. Yet each por-trait is intended to have a life of its own, unveiling different aspects of the human spirit. In this way I have been able to absorb the various styles and techniques of masters who I admire while giving play to role-playing on the part of the person selected.

SOLO Exhibitions 2011 2010 2010 2005 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2001 2000 1997 1992 1981 1977 1973

“On the Edge of Light” Maor Gallery, Miami, Florida “Into the Light” (with Paul Stoppi), Mutual Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica Sojourne, WDNA Gallery, Miami, FL Mayaimi, OMNIART-Miami for Art Basel Paint the Town, OMNIART-Miami for Art Miami Paint the Town, OMNIART-Miami for Art Basel Dibujos de Luz, Chelsea Galleria, Miami, Fl. Godessy, part of "Amigos", World Arts Building, for Art Basel, Miami, Florida The Shekkinah Scrolls and Tabernacle Preview, DACRA, Miami The Shekkinah Scrolls, Alpert JCC, Long Beach, California The Shekkinah Scrolls Preview, The Madonna Building (DACRA), Miami, Fl. Chelsea Galleries, Kingston, Jamaica Chelsea Galleries, Kingston, Jamaica John Peartree Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Bolivar Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica John Peartree Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica

AWARDS 2001 1989 1983

Tigertail Foundation, Artist's Access Grant Bronze Medal, Government of Jamaica Silver Medal, Government of Jamaica 8

Maestro (After Velasquez and Boxer)

Xaymaca Odalisque (after Ingres)

KACEY FERGUSON KACEY FERGUSON was born in Manchester, Jamaica. He received his early education at Kingston College. A self-taught artist, Kacey Ferguson is described by many as a "landscape master". His love of the beauty of nature is at the heart of his determination to reproduce on canvas his aesthetic vision of that which is pure. His paintings depict pastoral settings where nature is at its most serene. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions both locally and internationally, since 1995 and held one solo exhibition in 1998. In 1998 he received a silver medal in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission exhibition, and in 1999 he was awarded the prestigious Government of Jamaica National Youth Award for Excellence in the field of Art. In 2002, his painting of Hope Gardens in Kingston, depicting an earthly paradise, was presented to the Duke of Edinburgh as a gift from the Jamaica National Environment Trust. His paintings have been featured as cover images for two books – “The Damp in Things” and “I Woman”, both published in 2009.

ARTIST STATEMENT I create art in the spirit of appreciation and celebration of the life of the subject. I am also committed to bringing an awareness of nature, peace and hope to a public jaded by social inequality and materialism. In my art I present a vision of the world as a paradise, most people no longer see this as relevant to our present reality, where God's gift of nature is at the heart of oneness with the creator, an awareness that humanity urgently needs to embrace.

SOLO Exhibitions

1998

1999

Chelsea Galleries, Kingston, Jamaica

1998

GROUP Exhibitions 2010 2010 2007 2003-06 2000-02 2002 2001 2000 2000 2000 1999 1998 1997 1995/99

Government of Jamaica National Youth Award for Excellence in the Field of Art Silver Medal (Painting) Jamaica Cultural Development Commission

National Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Mutual Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Dharma Studio, Florida, U.S.A. Olympia Art Centre, Kingston, Jamaica Annual National Exhibition, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica Young Talent, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica Art Manor Inc., Florida, U.S.A. (Coral Gables) Pegasus Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Red Bones Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Young Generation, Mutual Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Gifts to the Nation, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica Annual National Exhibition, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica Pollyanna Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Chelsea Galleries, Kingston, Jamaica

Blue Mountains, Jamaica

Blue Mountains II 11

MARISA WILLOUGHBY HOLLAND MARISA WILLOUGHBY HOLLAND was born in Jamaica in 1975. She moved to England to study art, first at the Chelsea College of Art and at the Camberwell College of Art from where she graduated in Graphic Design in 1998. Later She pursued and MA in Illustration at the Royal College of Art. She maintains strong links to her homeland making annual visits to the island.

ARTIST STATEMENT My work is the key to my self discovery. Every painting tells a story. These stories illustrate my life as a female, a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother. They are a collection of memories and feelings drawn from the past and present. I aspire to create a certain atmosphere in my work that is both mystical and vibrant. The colours have a comforting warmth that provokes a sensation of my childhood in Jamaica. There is a strong spiritual element that is both from my Catholic school upbringing and my Christian family life in England. As a classically trained artist I have always been fascinated with the human form and creating work that is representational. However after leaving school I started to create work that was a representation of how I saw the world. I love the challenge of building up tones and colours that have depth and come to life within a canvas giving a feeling of reality but I do this with a degree of distortion to emphasise an emotion or intensify a mood. Although my work is carefully premeditated my paintings are always a journey that sometimes leads to the unpredicted. For the most part this is a result of what is happening in my life at that time. Feelings change. Life is unpredictable. These things all play a part in my story and help to translate my vision into reality.

Exhibitions Jamaica National Gallery of Jamaica London The Mall Galleries Arndean Gallery Gallery 47 Chalk Farm Gallery Brixton Art Gallery Italy The Vatican Library Spain Bologna Book Fair

AWARDS Folio Society Illustration award 2001 - First prize winner Folio Society Illustration award 2000 - Second prize winner The Worthshipful Company of Painters and Stainers Award - Winner for 2000 and 2001

Mother & Child with Roses

Awakening

SAMERE TANSLEY SAMERE TANSLEY was born in the U.K. and trained as a painter in several English art schools, before making Jamaica her home in 1970. For forty years she has embraced and influenced creative expression and the education process through her dedication to teaching art, first at the secondary level and then at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts. Many young aspiring artists have benefited from her sustained encouragement and guidance. The Jamaican environment has been an important inspiration in Samere's work and her iconic portraits of Jamaican women have gained a permanent place in popular culture. Her imageries reflect many influences and sources, including mythology, feminism, nature, figuration and for the past twenty years the constructed realities conveyed by still-life. The pieces in this show, painted over a five year period, evoke a quality of 'time captured and stilled' where the subject can be observed, outside of time and space, existing for itself alone. Samere has exhibited extensively in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean and her work has been included in Jamaican Art shows in Miami, Los Angeles and New York - with solo shows in Bermuda and the United Kingdom and many in Jamaica. She lives and works in Kingston,

ARTIST STATEMENT I see myself united with other contemporary realists in attempting to emulate our celebrated predecessors in capturing the game of light and shade. My still-lifes contain the small everyday things of life that speak to me of the history of the familiar, the domestic. My work is a contemplative aesthetic examination of these objects and the space they occupy.

SOLO Exhibitions

AWARDS

1988-2011 1999 1999 1997/8 1997 1986 1984

1986

1983 1979

Open Studio Show, Stony Hill, Kingston Artifex Gallery. Sutton Coldfield, B’ham, England ‘Jamaica Blue’, London, England Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kingston Masterworks Foundation, Hamilton. Bermuda Frame Centre Gallery, Kingston Community Centre Gallery, Hammersmith, London, England Frame Centre Gallery, Kingston Mutual Life Gallery, Kingston

1985

SOLO Exhibitions 1991 1990 1977-89

Homage to John Dunkley, National Gallery of Jamaica Annual National Art Exhibition, The National Gallery, Kingston -Invited Exhibitor Annual National Art Exhibition, The National Gallery, Kingston -Juried Exhibitor 14

Vox Populi Prize - Rotary Club Art Show, Pegasus Hotel Kingston Silver Medal - Painting Annual Jamaican Independence Festival Exhibition

Rum and Lime

Summer Fruits

The Mutual Gallery and Art Centre Ltd. 2 Oxford Road, Kingston 5, Jamaica, W.I.