"Zebra" by Jona Brasch, oil on canvas
Sana Rose, Contributor
THERE WAS literally a buzz in the air when it was announced that the National Gallery of Jamaica would now host a National Biennial in place of its long-standing premier exhibition, the National Annual Exhibition.
There was high expectation for the new show as with such a change, one anticipates higher standards and certainly better quality, especially after such an impressive showing of young artists in the Young Talent exhibition. And so it was that on Sunday, December 8 last year, visitors stormed the front door of the National Gallery to view the inaugural National Biennial.
The Biennial, an exhibition to be held every two years, was surprisingly held only one year after the last Annual. At first glance, many of the usual exhibitors were present, most of whom were invited artists. Interestingly, the juried section of the show amassed only 57 works by 39 artists out of a total of 173 entries. Perhaps the one-year interval caught many artists off-guard and, hence, the expected higher standard of work that the two-year break should have created was not realised. The young artists were also under-represented.
Nevertheless, 37 invited artists filled the gap sufficiently with many pieces amounting to 106, so much so that a few artists from this group were able to have mini-solo shows with works spanning quite a bit of wall space within the larger Biennial.
Moving through the space from work to work is a little awkward at times as some pieces which are similar in appearance to works by other artists are placed side by side. While walking through I was fooled twice, as when I thought a work belonged to the previous artist, it was, in fact, not so.
Cecil Cooper's 'Morning Stroll', similar in treatment to Milton Harley's 'Lady Godiva', were beside each other, giving the impression that both are works of one artist; so, too, Maria Laycona's group of photographs which fused with Cecil Ward's collection. In other cases where placement is an issue, it is the juxtaposition that is problematic.
Dr. David Boxer's installation 'Iconologia III', which is accompanied by music, imposed on the works of Prudence Lovell and Petrona Morrison, who also presents an installation but would have benefited from having her own room. An unusual grouping occurs with Christopher Irons' installation and Michael Elliot's renditions of decaying structures and Rafiki Kariuki's collage.
The exhibition underscores Jamaican artists' love of representation of varying degrees and media. With five or six installations, mixed media explorations and painting as the most popular form, the Biennial repeats the common trend of the previous Annual shows. Among the notables are the chief curator of the Gallery, Dr. Boxer, whose expansive works are formally accomplished; David Pinto with his 'Onlookers', Khepera Oluyia's twin-panelled 'Untitled'; Tafui McLean's abstract and semi-abstract explorations; Rafiki Kariuki's 'Overseas Letter'; and an exquisitely rendered 'Blue and White China', with its succinct air of English "properness" by Samere Tansley.
With all its visual highlights the inaugural Biennial still raises old questions from the days of its predecessor: Should there be a limit on the number of pieces displayed by the invited artists? Should the recommendation "that invited artists discuss their proposed submissions with a curator of the gallery", as stated in the Biennial brochure, be a compulsory requirement to regulate the standard of work?
This Biennial has not broken any new ground. The Annual has essentially become a two-year show.
It is hoped that artists will rise to the occasion and use the two-year break to produce some really ground-breaking work, as quite a number of artists have settled into monotonous formulae and this too is evident in the current show. In two years' time, we shall witness the results.
Congrats to Norma Rodney-Harrack and Christopher Irons, a young artist who copped the Aaron Matalon and Purchase awards respectively. The exhibition continues until March 15.
