A COLLECTION OF WORKS BY 22 ARTISTS
CHE LOVELACE // ASHRAPH // GLENN ROOPCHAND CHRISTOPHER COZIER // KENWYN CRICHLOW // EMBAH EDWARD BOWEN // JACKIE HINKSON // JANICE DERRICK IRÉNÉE SHAW // SHALINI // ABIGAIL HADEED BARBARA JARDINE // JADE DRAKES // LISA O CONNOR SUNDIATA // PETER SHEPPARD // SHASTRI MAHARAJ NADIA HUGGINS // RICHARD MARK RAWLINS ROBERTA STODDART // CARLISLE HARRIS
SQUARED ANGLES: 12x12 BY MARSHA PEARCE
While this exhibition unfolds, there is a body of art on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean that is also attracting audiences. The works of British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (17741851) are now on display at the Tate Britain in an exhibition running from September 2014 to January 2015, entitled Late Turner – Painting Set Free. The show gives attention to works made after Turner’s 60th birthday. Of note in the survey of some 150 works are his square canvas paintings presented together for the first time. They were a new format for the artist who was exploiting the shape as he continued his engagement with rendering vortices of light. Turner’s square canvases were considered controversial, with some critics arguing that they were indicative of an artist in mental decline. Yet, the exhibition at the Tate Britain challenges this perception of the “elderly demented artist” by proposing the works as emblematic of Turner’s late style – paintings that served as portraits of his ideas and creative preoccupations at that particular period in his life. It is this pinpointing of time and personal concerns, with the square functioning as a metaphor for the artists’ technical, emotional and ideological focus at this moment in their lives, that the exhibition here at home facilitates. The square is a common denominator in Y Art Gallery’s 12x12 show – something given to the artists. Yet, what they take away from it is entirely uncommon or different. Each piece bears the artist’s interpretation of the four-sided configuration. Jackie Hinkson, for example, extends ideas shared in his recent solo show Plain to See. His square here, features his sustained observations of billboards and the messages of other advertising signage in our landscape. In the “blink” of an eye, cell phone technology has transformed the way we interact with each other and has reformulated our concepts of distance and space. Barbara Jardine gives us a new manifestation of her study and translation of the calabash – an object that has been a focal point for her over the last few years. Glenn Roopchand’s piece is part of an ongoing thematic probing of life as rhythms and vibrations. Ashraph Ramsaran’s work reverberates with his
latest explorations of materials for jewellery making along with his motif of the silhouette of a head, which has been a feature of a number of his past art. Roberta Stoddart shares an aesthetic echo from her show Indigo, which took place earlier this year. Lisa O’Connor presents one of her outdoor viewpoints in a demonstration of her continued attention to a description of light with impasto deftness. Irénée Shaw paints herself almost obfuscated by brushed pigments and layers of foliage, giving us a peek into how she sees herself. Christopher Cozier sets up the square as a wall of cut-out, ventilation blocks through which we can see his “Gas Men” drawing. The piece maintains a visual conversation he has established, with recent works, about development and the role of multinational companies. Peter Sheppard attends to his enduring passion for miniature painting while presenting a grand temple scene and Edward Bowen gives us his enigmatic, dense scape delineated in a manner that shows his abiding commitment to mark-making. These are but a few illustrations of the ways in which the artists in this show have deconstructed the square and assembled its dimensions anew. The artists in 12x12 offer over twenty responses to surface, shape and depth – over twenty insights into where they are now, and in some instances, where they wish to take the trajectory of their investigations. The square then, is symbolic of juncture, phase, stage. The artists offer us their perspectives and issues; their ways of seeing; their positions. The works in this exhibition are their squared angles. -------Marsha Pearce holds a PhD in Cultural Studies. She teaches at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus and is the Senior Art Writer and Editor of ARC Caribbean Art and Culture Magazine. Her writings about art appear in several publications.
THE SQUARE THEN, IS SYMBOLIC OF JUNCTURE, PHASE, STAGE.
ROBERTA STODDART
Skyjacked 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Oil Painting on Primed Hardboard
SHASTRI MAHARAJ
The Nocturnal Guardian. 2014. 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Acrylic on Canvas.
CHE LOVELACE
Compositiion with Figure and Sun 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Mixed Media
ABIGAIL HADEED
Bois Cano fig 1. 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Photography
EDWARD BOWEN
A Trip to the Countryside 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Ink Acrylic on Canvas
A Next Day, A Next Night 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Ink Rubber Stamps, PVC, Wood
CHRISTOPHER COZIER
JADE DRAKES
Min Hund 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Wearable Brotch- Electroformed Fine Silver and Sterling Silver
SHALINI
A Moment to Remember. 2014. 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Mixed Media
Fly Away. 2014. 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Mixed Media.
RICHARD MARK-RAWLINS
Urchin Skeleton 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Photography
NADIA HUGGINS
CARLISLE HARRIS
Confluence 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Acrylic on Canvas
SUNDIATA
Helaconia Madness 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Oil on Canvas
GLENN ROOPCHAND
Quantum Frequency. 2014. 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Mixed Media.
JACKIE HINKSON
Blink 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Oil on Canvas
Evening Scene at Crown Point. 2014. 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Oil on Linen Canvas
LISA O’CONNOR
PETER SHEPPARD
Sandhya. 2014. 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Acrylic on Canvas.
KENWYN CRICHLOW
2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Oil on Canvas and 22 Kt Gold Leaf.
Crust. 2014. 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Oil, Wire Mesh and Paster on Canvas.
IRÉNÉE SHAW
Hopeful 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Sterling sliver,18ct yellow gold, Swiss blue topaz , drawings.
JANICE DERRICK
Dreamer. 2014 . 12 x 12 x 3 inches. Mixed Media.
EMBAH
ASHRAPH
Black Indian 2014 12 x 12 x 3 inches Wearable Pendant- Sterling Silver, Ebony, Mixed Media on Canvas
BARBARA JARDINE
Dry Season Dew Vase 2013 (signed) Height: 5” TOP: hand-raised oxidized copper decorated with sterling silver inlays under ‘cabochons’ of clear Colores resin. BODY: relief-carved and polished natural calabash inlaid with sterling silver wires. The decorated dark area is textured and stained with black wood stain and inlaid with oxidised silver and discs of iridescent green beetle, enhanced by ‘cabochons’ of clear Colores resin. BASE: Hand-raised and fabricated sterling silver. Photograph: Michele Jorsling
ABOUT THE ARTISTS ASHRAPH My work is a journal. It is both introspective and societal reflective. It can be regarded as a series of chapters that speak about the things that affect us all, the ‘crosses we bear’, leaving the ‘comfort zones’, travelling and the ‘crossing of lines and boundaries’. My iconography includes the careful but also mischievous taunting usage of arches, subverted from their original intention in Hindu and Muslim cultures to create unique and exploratory viewpoints of sexuality and religion, mangoes as a colloquial/contemporary exchange for the apple’s connotation of temptation, and of course glitter and sequins an indefinable part of my culture. BARBARA JARDINE Barbara Jardine is a Trinidad born artist-jeweller. She trained in London, and on graduating from the Royal College Art, returned to Trinidad in the mid-70s where she has lived and worked ever since. She has work on permanent exhibition in our National Museum and the V&A. Barbara exhibits regularly in Trinidad. CHE LOVELACE Characteristically, his attitude to art making has been to consider his cultural environment through a wide lens. He shapes imaginative responses via cycles of art production that are diverse in materials, approach and methodology, yet interconnected by way of subject and concept. The last several years have seen him develop a body of work that cultivates a dynamic interplay between performance and painting. EDWARD BOWEN “A transition period at the moment, searching for new visual questions and answers,clues if you like to finding equations of form - a difficult process to explain in words, am trying to write, transcribe, bring forward some of these issues in the work, without being so literal, or necessarily relevant. I think it goes without saying that our landscape is changing in many ways, rapidly: my work is to generate and create a response.” EMBAH Each one of Embah’s paintings is linked to one of his poems and, like visual calypsoes, illustrates his ongoing commentary on old values and contemporary attitudes. He uses a series of symbols for his philosophical narrative: books, hands, trees, birds and Port of Spain’s Savannah. His images rely on Trinidad and Tobago’s folklore and social and spiritual traditions. JADE DRAKES Jade Drakes is a Trinidadian jeweller with a fondness for all things craft and animal, especially the dog. Jade draws her inspiration from nature, old shops that sell old things, old ladies, old men, museums, books - especially children books, female contemporary artists, insects and conversation. JANICE DERRICK Born in Trinidad in 1972 and trained in Silversmithing, Jewellery and Allied Crafts at the prestigious Sir John Cass faculty, London Guildhall University, Janice set up her business in 1997 with the help of a Clerkenwell Award. After running her business in London for eight years, Janice returned to Trinidad and has continued to develop her Jewellery, which is influenced by simplicity, geometry and the structure of manmade or natural forms.
KENWYN CRICHLOW Kenwyn Crichlow is a figure in contemporary abstract art, and has been since the 1980s. He says”...at the centre of my studio is the act of painting. In my best work, my intentions fall away leaving a surface for viewers to create meanings that increasingly have less to do with me...” RICHARD RAWLINS Richard Mark Rawlins, is a graphic designer and contemporary artist. He is the publisher of the online magazine Draconian Switch (www. artzpub.com), and collaborator in the Alice Yard contemporary artspace initiative. His most recent exhibition, “STEUPPS” (2013), took place at Medulla Art Gallery, Port of Spain, Trinidad. He has had several solo exhibitions in Trinidad and was a resident artist in Vermont Studio Center, Vermont, USA (2012). His work has also been exhibited at the Museum of Art and Design, New York (2010) and in Kingston, Jamaica (2012). Rawlins lives and works in Trinidad. SHALINI SEEREERAM Shalini is a talented Trinidadian-born artist who paints full-time in the comforts of her studio. Primarily self-taught, Shalini has been exhibiting for the past fourteen years. The vibrant use of colour in her geometric, intertwined characters is usually reflected in her paintings. Her recent works vividly portray Indo-Caribbean culture leaving the viewer with a lasting impression through her use of either acrylics or mixed media collage. GLENN ROOPCHAND I see myself as a constant gardener ploughing, probing, enriching and thereby harvesting from the womb of sustenance that state of Nirvana where the living vibration of the cosmos is interwoven with my Caribbean Roots. SUNDIATA (WINSTON STEWART) Barbadian born artist, residing in Trinidad and Tobago since 1980, Sundiata works in various mediums, using strong bright colour as a vehicle for expression. Currently involved in working with oil paints and wooden sculptures, he prizes himself as one who celebrates nature, humanity and encounter. ABIGAIL HADEED Abigail Hadeed is a natural visual storyteller. Born in Trinidad, The West Indies in 1963, Hadeed has produced archives spanning almost three decades. Her photographic narratives record the courageous stories of Afro-Caribbean people in Central America, Banana Workers in the Lesser Antilles and the indigenous peoples of Guyana’s Rupununi Savannah. In her home town of Port of Spain, she has traversed the terain of traditional carnival, steel band and theatre, producing some the most iconic images that Trinidad has known. PETER SHEPPARD Peter Sheppard (HS), tutored by life’s quirks and stimulated by the beauty of our environment. His paintings are detailed interpretations of the Trinidad & Tobago landscape - lush hillsides, vast panoramas and meandering rivers form the main subject matter of his work. Peter is currently the 1st Vice President of the Art Society of Trinidad & Tobago and a member of The Hilliard Society of Miniature Painters (HS) Where he won the BEST IN SHOW AWARD in 2013 for his miniatures.
SHASTRI MAHARAJ Has 35 years experience as an artist he has had 15 solo exhibitions ranging from such regions as Bonn Germany, Toronto Canada, Delhi India, and Florida United States ROBERTA STODDART Roberta Stoddart’s paintings have been described as brave, dense, bold, thoroughly executed, and deeply felt. Intense and disturbing, they stimulate questions about our collective prejudices, our psychological spaces, and our notions of belonging. Stoddart has published two books, Seamless Spaces (2000) and The Storyteller (2007), produced six solo exhibitions, and participated in important local, regional, and international group shows. Born in Jamaica, she lives and works in Trinidad. NADIA HUGGINS Nadia Huggins is a self-taught photographer from St.Vincent & the Grenadines; her primary interests are documentary and conceptual photography of and about the Caribbean. She has exhibited work both regionally and internationally, including ‘Wrestling with the Image: Caribbean Interventions’ held in Washington, DC. Her work has been published in several publications including, ‘Pictures from Paradise: A Survey of Contemporary Caribbean Photography’. She is the co-founder of ARC Magazine and a full time freelance graphic designer. LISA O’CONNOR One of Trinidad’s most accomplished painters, Lisa O’connor was born in Kingston Jamaica, and moved to Trinidad with her family as a young girl in 1977, where she now resides. Lisa has won numerous awards and has exhibited extensively in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the United Kingdom and The United States.
CARLISLE HARRIS Harris, one of the best-loved and long established artists of Trinidad and Tobago, occupies unique artistic territory. His association with the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, inspired him to continue creating artwork that refer to a vast symbology depicting mythical figures of an imagination inspired by noble, consciousness raising themes, which he admits are contemplative and set against a background of illusory space. JACKIE HINKSON Over the past 20 years Hinkson has expanded his repertoire of subjects and his range of media. In addition to the numerous (some 75) sketch pads that he has filled with sketches and visual notes on people, places and events, he has produced ” in which he has depicted events from the life of Christ in a contemporary Trinidadian context. These works exhibited in 2002 2003 and have received wide national acclaim. IRÉNÉE SHAW b.1963, Irénée Shaw returned to Trinidad in 1989 after studying in the United States. She is a figurative painter. CHRISTOPHER COZIER b.1959, Christopher Cozier is an artist and writer living and working in Trinidad. His artwork and writing has been widely exhibited and published.
PUBLISHED BY Yasmin Hadeed and Y Art and Framing Gallery 26 Taylor Street, Woodbrook Trinidad and Tobago Tel: (868) 628-4165 TEXT Marsha Pearce DESIGN Nadia Huggins PHOTOGRAPHY Nadia Huggins Abigail Hadeed Michele Jorsling
Y ART & FRAMING GALLERY 26 TAYLOR STREET, WOODBROOK, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (868) 628-4165 | INFO@YARTGALLERY.COM © 2014, Y Art and Framing Gallery. All rights reserved.