Though we are nine days into the new year, excitement from the recent Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Junkanoo parades is still in the air. It isn’t difficult to see why the tradition resonated so much with Brent Malone.
For many at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB), Brent Malone’s “Balinese Woman with Flamingoes” is a favorite from the National Collection. An original Malone, the painting is considered one of the gems that has been graciously gifted to the gallery over the years (in this case, by the kindness of Jean Cookson). Painted in the last decade of his life, “Balinese Woman with Flamingoes” resulted from the intersection of several events and factors in Malone’s life at the time.
“What to Do?”, a woodcut by Bahamian master printmaker Maxwell Taylor, is this month’s Art Work of the Month.
This month, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) had the pleasure of a visit by renowned Bahamian artist Max Taylor. Called one of the country’s foremost ‘master artists’, multimedia artist Taylor has been an invaluable member of the country’s visual arts community for decades. During that time, he has produced exquisite prints, paintings and ceramic works, many of which are on display at the NAGB and for sale in its Mixed Media gift shop.
One of the much-talked about highlights of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) Mixed Media Art Summer Camp has been the new mural – or, rather, murals – adorning the public wall spaces at the NAGB. As living, collaborative works, the murals have been completed by groups of campers and individual artists, all of whom joined the NAGB for some time during its summer camp, led by Education and Curatorial Support Associate Abby Smith.
“The Queen Staircase” is easily one of Bahamian Domestic’s most recognizable works.
In seeing so many large, bright, and significant works in Bahamian Domestic, it might seem peculiar to pick a piece that appears so much smaller and more subtle in comparison. However, it’s equally essential to find the importance in the things that become marginalized by bigger entities – the significance in the small. For Natalie Willis, National Art Gallery Curatorial Trainee, Lavar Munroe’s “Migrant” seemed appropriate to discuss and share as April’s Art Work of the Month.
Teaming up to transform part of the grounds at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) this year are cousins College of The Bahamas Assistant Professor of Sociology Nicolette Bethel and artist and designer Margot Bethel, who will be assembling a representation of a former family home. The artwork was originally planned as a piece for the Seventh National Exhibition, Antillean: an Ecology, but the project had to be delayed due to conflicting schedules.
