Stories Archives - Page 4 of 4 - National Art Gallery of The Bahamas

“John Beadle’s Row Yah Boat: Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream.’ Wake up!” by Natascha Vazquez

14 March 2017 Natalie Willis

Our intern, graduate student Natascha Vazquez writes: John Beadle was born in 1964 on the island of New Providence in The Bahamas. He received his BFA and MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and the Tyler School of Art of Temple University respectively. Beadle delves into various art genres, including painting, printmaking, sculpture and installation. Often, his highly conceptual work consists of everyday materials such as wood, found objects or metal. According to Beadle, “Material – the found, already weathered stuff carries with it a fragmented narrative that makes for very interesting placement possibilities.”

Kendal Hanna’s “Rainbow Explosion”: Finding self through abstraction

13 February 2017 Natalie Willis

Kendal Hanna, a Bahamian artist and forerunner of abstract painting, brilliantly captures energetic expression and emotion through the intense repetition of line exemplified in Untitled (Rainbow Explosion). Hanna has masterfully engaged in his medium, stretching its ability to exist both boldly and lightly, from heavy black in the foreground to a luminous yellow in the background. Splatters surrounding the composition and within provide insight into the craftsmanship of the work, leaving signs of active brushwork –one may imagine Hanna physically engaging with the paper, paintbrush and paint with high energy, working confidently as his subconscious mind expresses itself on the paper.

November Artwork of The Month: “Five Children at the Water Pump” (1984) by Peggy Herring

14 November 2016 Natalie Willis

Little ones on a dusty road of varying ages - tiny hands held in those only slightly bigger, leading the

Lillian Blades ‘Quilts and Social Fabric: Heritage and Improvisation’

24 June 2016 NAGB

The Harvey B Gannt Centre for African-American Arts+Culture shares: ‘Quilts and Social Fabric: Heritage and Improvisation’, an upcoming exhibition at the centre in North Carolina featuring the work of Bahamian artist Lillian Blades. ‘Quilts and Social Fabric’ runs from July 16, 2016 – January 16, 2017. The Harvey B Gannt Centre for African-American Arts+Culture shares: ‘Quilts and Social Fabric: Heritage and Improvisation’, an upcoming exhibition at the centre in North Carolina featuring the work of Bahamian artist Lillian Blades. ‘Quilts and Social Fabric’ runs from July 16, 2016 – January 16, 2017.

The NAGB Art Library Highlights “Art That Pays: The Emerging Artist’s Guide to Making a Living” (2004)

15 March 2012 Natalie Willis

So many artists stand on a creative precipice within their lives that many outside of the art world are unaware of. This precipice is embodied by one question: How can I shift from simply making art to making a living?

NAGB Art Library Highlights “Infinite Island: Contemporary Caribbean Art” (2007)

23 February 2012 Natalie Willis

Speak of the Caribbean to the wider world and pictures of grand palm trees, pristine blue waters and easy breezy island life are imagined. In an exhibition catalogue entitled Infinite Island: Contemporary Caribbean Art, assistant curator at the Brooklyn Museum, Tumelo Mosaka, attempts to deconstruct clichéd notions of Caribbean visual culture by exploring the work of 45 contemporary Caribbean artists.

Local and Global: Kendal Hanna and William de Kooning

18 October 2011 admin

Within Kendal Hanna’s works there is great inspiration and reference to a particular abstract artist. Abstract art could not exist

Kendal Hanna’s “Happy Birthday To Me”

11 October 2011 Natalie Willis

Currently on exhibition at the National Art Gallery is Kendal Hanna’s Retrospective Exhibition, “Happy Birthday To Me”. Spanning work from his near-60 year career, the exhibition features over 140 pieces ranging from Hanna’s psychologically intense portraits, his classic nude studies, and compelling abstract expressionist pieces. Curated by Dr. Erica M. James, the exhibition opened on the 25th of June 2011 and will sadly end in January 2012, so visit while you can!