-3 exhibitions you must see before the festival closes
Art is subjective. There is no good or bad. It is a matter of individual taste. And whether the work finds an audience is determined by any number of factors.
Some artists are very now; others are ahead of their time, way, way ahead.
The common thread is the drive to represent, in Aristotle’s words, “not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Here we present three exhibitions you should see:
1. Winslow Craig leads an expo of the country’s best artists at Guyana’s Signal Exhibition. Craig’s sculptures range from the abstract to the literal, though the common thread is the intricate designs that features in all his works. Emancipation, a bust sculpture, makes a startling impression in the lobby of the building. Other attractions are hyperrealist painter Carl Anderson, sculptor Ivor Thom, multimedia artist Winston Strick and photographer Robert Fernandes.
Venue: The International Convention Centre, Liliendaal.
2. The life-size male nude sculpture at the front of Suriname’s booth at the Country Exhibition at the National Gymnasium can be a, well, distraction. But if you can look past the penis parade, there is a gallery of paintings by the artist Soeki that feature works that abound with a restless energy. St. Vincent artists Brent Williams, Robert Joyette, Trinidad’s Sherlan Peters, Barbados’ Gail Pounder and local G. Sampson also feature standout showings at the exhibition, although it’s best to walk with a lot of water to beat the heat in the sauna-like Gymnasium.
Venue: The National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.
3. George Simon’s “The spiritual connection between man and nature” is undoubtedly the signature piece at the Indigenous Art Exhibition, but the Haitian vaudou artwork of the Haitian artist Jacques Cassius is also striking. Cassius, a Haitian Vaudou priest who only speaks French, is a painter, whose works recall the stained glass traditionally associated with churches. The works display ancient myths as well as scenes of life. Other prominent artists featured include the other members of Guyana’s Lokono artists, like sculptor Oswald Hossein as well as the Surinamese Djuka art.
Venue: the Umana Yana, Kingston.
