Eye on Art

Spoken Softly with Mama (1998), María Magdalena Campos-Pons (with Neil Leonard).
Spoken Softly with Mama (1998), María Magdalena Campos-Pons (with Neil Leonard).

Four decades of brilliance and counting…

Embroidered silk and organza over ironing boards with photographic transfers, embroidered cotton sheets, pâte de verre irons and trivets, wooden benches, six projected video tracks by Campos-Pons with stereo sound by Leonard; 336 × 341 in.

Nexus Exhibition View (Entrance Wall) in photograph left to right: A Portrait of the artist in the newly renovated Nexus studio (1992-1996); curatorial text; Untitled: Blue Rain, 1996, Acrylic mixed-media on board, 48” x 72”. (Photo courtesy of Brenda Locke)

Donald Locke: Nexus

The current posthumous solo exhibition of works by Guyana-born artist Donald Locke (1930-2010) is one any Guyana-based artist or art lover would be overjoyed to see.

Breaking boundaries

From November 6 -16, the Ministry of Education (MoE) for the second consecutive year will host an art exhibition foregrounding the work of students and teachers of Visual Art at the National Gallery of Art, Castellani House.

The Moving Circle of Artists, 2024

Although George Simon (d. 2020) has passed on to the realm of the ancestors, it is good to see that his Moving Circle of Artists persists, and judging from their current/recent exhibition, it has expanded to be more reflective of his original vision.

Acts of intimidation

I was around 14 years old when I experienced my first raid at home by members of the state security apparatus.

Kabakaburi Music - Stephanie Correia, Watercolour,  1998
(Photo Courtesy of Castellani House)

Stephanie Correia

Born April 28, 1930, Stephanie Helena Correia was the third of nine children born to Umbelina and Stephen Campbell.

Doubling, Tahirih Gerrard - Acrylic on Canvas, 20”x 27.5 “ 2024 (Photo: Courtesy of T Gerrard)

Echoes of Resilience

This week I share the Exhibition Overview for the University of Guyana’s Fine Art students’ exhibition Echoes of Resilience currently on at the National Gallery of Art, Castellani House.

Designed by Haitian architect Albert Mangonès (1917–2002), Le Nègre Marron is an iconic sculpture and the epitome of (black) freedom visualised. The 2.4 metre (7 feet 9 inches) high bronze sculpture shows a man balanced on one bent knee in a posture of arrested movement. It is as if the man has pulled himself out of a cavernous space; his body arches backward and to his lips he holds a conch shell, a symbol of freedom in a call to rebellion. In his right hand, he holds firmly a machete. The chains attached to the manacle on his extended left leg are broken. Forgetting is not possible with such a monument.

Monuments of Remembrance

Resistance. Fortitude. Resilience. Emancipation Day is around the corner. Without fail every year on the day and during that period, I catch myself doing a quick self-assessment.

The ePaper edition, on the Web & in stores for Android, iPhone & iPad.

Included free with your web subscription. Learn more.