By Sana Rose, Contributor
EIGHT OF the Great is the latest
offering by Bolivar Gallery featuring eight artists on the island
Carol Crichton, Graham Davis, Amy Laskin, Seya Parboosingh,
P. J. Stewart, Heather Sutherland-Wade, Samere Tansley and Patrick
Waldemar. All seasoned and recognised artists locally, it is interesting
to note that all, except Crichton, Sutherland-Wade and Waldemar
are Jamaican-born.
All the artists in the show are painters (Sutherland-Wade opts for a mixed media style), mostly in the representational vein apart from P. J. Stewart's offering that flirts with semi-abstraction and Seya Parboosingh, who goes all the way into abstraction. Stewart's 'free-form' approach to Three Old Bags in watercolour on paper is somewhat whimsical as she allows the paint to run into each other. Carol Crichton is the only one in the group to use the human figure as her primary subject, offering a slightly deeper conceptual idea with her architectural and textual motifs while the others in the representational genre rely on an observational approach for the most part. They choose subjects, which lend themselves easily to observation still life (Tansley) and landscape/seascape/architecture (Sutherland-Wade, Laskin, Waldemar and Davis).
As the artists are well known on the local art scene, so are their styles and in the case of Davis, Sutherland-Wade and Laskin especially, there is no change or challenge in this regard. Parboosingh's divergence from the usual kind of painting for which she is most known figurative, in mostly pastel hues is a welcome change. Her abstractions have been presented before in other shows, sometimes a mix of the old approach with the new and in this show, it is the work on board that catches and holds our attention. Titled Sanctuary No. 2, it is one of the smallest works in the show (similar in scale to the collection of landscapes by Sutherland-Wade). Parboosingh combines translucent layers of paint that do not completely mask the woodgrain (upon close inspection) with incised markings in the wood. The geometric composition contrasts with her other two pieces with splotches of paint on canvas that are less calculating and more free form in similar fashion to P. J. Stewart's Three Old Bags.
Tansley shows that still-life is where her strength lies with two painted flower arrangements, which recalls compositional preoccupations of French painter, Edouard Manet during the 1800s. Waldemar exhibits his usual mastery of watercolour techniques and in Hope Road Oasis, takes creates window-like view of a section of a panoramic scene and successfully maintains a structurally balanced composition within a vertical format.
Eight of the Great does not offer any real challenge to the viewer. These works are offered to us a statement these are artists who we already know and this is the form/format of their work, which we are already familiar with for the most part. Greatness here is perhaps interpreted in terms of the local status these artists have attained and the show draws attention to their technical skill. Self-assuredness is embodied in these works, a result of experience. We take notice of this especially because of the medium and large scale of the works, which fit perfectly within the exhibition space and give weight and a fair amount of presence. But we are merely presented with pictures to look at and not to look into (conceptually).
The exhibition continues.
Captions
1. Graham Davis 'Alcove at Bracciano' acrylic on board
3. P. J. Stewart 'Three Old Bags' watercolour on paper (triptych)
5. Seya Parboosingh 'Sanctuary No. 2' acrylic on board
6. Carol Crichton 'You Must Remember This' acrylic on canvas representational vein apart from P. J. Stewart's offering that flirts with semi-abstraction and Seya Parboosingh, who goes all the way into abstraction. Stewart's 'free-form' approach to Three Old Bags in watercolour on paper is somewhat whimsical as she allows the paint to run into each other. Carol Crichton is the only one in the group to use the human figure as her primary subject, offering a slightly deeper conceptual idea with her architectural and textual motifs while the others in the representational genre rely on an observational approach for the most part. They choose subjects, which lend themselves easily to observation still life (Tansley) and landscape/seascape/architecture (Sutherland-Wade, Laskin, Waldemar and Davis).
As the artists are well known on the local art scene, so are their styles and in the case of Davis, Sutherland-Wade and Laskin especially, there is no change or challenge in this regard. Parboosingh's divergence from the usual kind of painting for which she is most known figurative, in mostly pastel hues is a welcome change. Her abstractions have been presented before in other shows, sometimes a mix of the old approach with the new and in this show, it is the work on board that catches and holds our attention. Titled Sanctuary No. 2, it is one of the smallest works in the show (similar in scale to the collection of landscapes by Sutherland-Wade). Parboosingh combines translucent layers of paint that do not completely mask the woodgrain (upon close inspection) with incised markings in the wood. The geometric composition contrasts with her other two pieces with splotches of paint on canvas that are less calculating and more free form in similar fashion to P. J. Stewart's Three Old Bags.
Tansley shows that still-life is where her strength lies with two painted flower arrangements, which recalls compositional preoccupations of French painter, Edouard Manet during the 1800s. Waldemar exhibits his usual mastery of watercolour techniques and in Hope Road Oasis, takes creates window-like view of a section of a panoramic scene and successfully maintains a structurally balanced composition within a vertical format.
Eight of the Great does not offer any real challenge to the viewer. These works are offered to us as a statement these are artists who we already know and this is the form/format of their work, which we are already familiar with, for the most part. Greatness here is perhaps interpreted in terms of the local status these artists have attained and the show draws attention to their technical skill. Self-assuredness is embodied in these works, a result of experience. We take notice of this especially because of the medium and large scale of the works, which fit perfectly within the exhibition space and give weight and a fair amount of presence. But we are merely presented with pictures to look at and not to look into (conceptually).
The exhibition continues.
