Junkanoo Archives - National Art Gallery of The Bahamas

From the Collection: “Metamorphosis” (1979) by R Brent Malone

27 September 2017 Articles

By Natalie Willis. There are few artists who were able to evoke the energy of Junkanoo as Brent Malone did. He didn’t just show vibrant costumes swaying lightly: he showed colours and costumes that vibrated, bodies tense with energy and muscles coiled as cowbells get poised to strike, eyes as red as the feathers from that 3 am lap, sweat dripping down faces holding tired red eyes. Malone set out the path for others to display Junkanoo as the manic, feverish, exhausting, and mesmerizing spectacle it is – he made it his mission to show the feeling at the root of the celebration, the cathartic outpour of energy and freedom. It is fitting that he lends this deference of accurate portrayal to a work that means so much to so many: “Metamorphosis” (1979) is a testament to the idea of a nascent Bahamas, the burgeoning forth of a still transforming nation after independence

From The Collection: Amos Ferguson’s “Junkanoo Cow Face”

12 July 2017 Articles

By Natascha Vazquez.

Bahamian artist and icon, Amos Ferguson radiantly portrays the spirit of Junkanoo through an energetic array of repeated imagery and texture in Junkanoo Cow Face – Match Me If You Can, an iconic piece in the Gallery’s National Collection. His interest in flattening the picture plane and depicting a graphic quality to the work is evident in this work, nodding to the style that he became widely known for. Ferguson used colour and repetition of form for impact and clarity. Arrangements of patterns flood his paintings, a visual language closely related to that of Bahamian culture, and in particular Junkanoo.

Amos Ferguson’s Junkanoo Cow Face: Match Me If You Can

22 August 2016 Articles

The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas was an idea long before it was a reality. Many artworks, therefore, had been purchased and earmarked for the collection before its eventual incarnation in 2003. The Bahamian National Collection, now housed with us in the magnificently restored Villa Doyle, was originally founded on the purchase of 25 Amos Ferguson works.

Brent Malone’s ‘Metamorphosis’ is the March artwork of the month

7 March 2016 Articles

Brent Malone’s “Metamorphosis” (1979), part of the NAGB’s National Collection, is on view in the R. Brent Malone Reincarnation exhibition. The work was donated to the National Collection by Jean Cookson.

The January Artwork of the Month is ‘Beller’

13 January 2016 Articles

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.