CaFA Fair Barbados 2014 - PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Carl F. Anderson - Guyana

Carl Anderson received his early art education at the Burrowes School of the Arts in Guyana. He later immersed himself in the Latin American art milieu by living for 13 years in Venezuela. Known internationally for his bold geometric “Ribbon Series” as well as striking photo realistic paintings, Carl’s work has been exhibited widely in Europe, North and South America, including the Malta Biennale, Italy’s Grolla D’Oro and the Guyana National Art Gallery. Carl’s most recent series of works tackled the controversial subject of domestic violence.

 

Jason Auguste - Jamaica/Trinidad & Tobago

Jason Auguste is an artist who works in multiple mediums from visual, to digital to graphic, to mixed media, paint (oil, acrylic, industrial, natural) on canvas, and healing jewelry, “a general vibe creator”. Born in New York with both Jamaican and Trinidadian parentage Jason Auguste attended the University of Miami and Columbia Teachers College, New York. His work has been shown in several influential exhibitions at Skylight Gallery, Brooklyn; Lincoln Center, NYC; Art In Flux Harlem; and Strivers Gardens Gallery, among others. In his own words, “My works are full of Wadada = Love. Seeing the Unseen I feel has always the ability to heal, so with colors, movements, ancient symbols with modern meanings, I see the unseen; which is all interpreted by my heart, felt by my soul and moved by my emotions. These works are for those who see, feel and heal beyond what is seen. Qiddus =Sanctified Selah Qiddus Wadada, Inspired by The Ancientcy of Existence and the future of the now.”

 

Aziza - Barbados

Aziza studied at the San Francisco Institute of Art, the University of California in Berkeley, and at Laney College in Oakland. A painter for over 30 years, Aziza’s exhibition credits include solo shows in conjunction with the US Information Service (USIS) in both Kabul, Afghanistan and Washington, DC. Aziza's paintings have also been shown at the US Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, the "Pro Arts" exhibit in Oakland, California, the "San Francisco Women Artists" shows in San Francisco, the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo, and the National Museum of Antigua and Barbuda as well as at numerous banks, clubs, studios and restaurants throughout the Caribbean.  She is a member of Pro Arts in Oakland, SF Women Artists, the Barbados Arts Council, and the Antigua Artists Society

 

Diogenes Ballester – Puerto Rico

Diogenes Ballester, visual artist, educator, and writer holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BFA from the Catholic University of Puerto Rico. He has taught as Professor of Art at The Cooper Union in New York City, the State University of New York at New Paltz, the College of New Rochell and The State University of New York at Albany. Mr. Ballester’s work explores oral history, memory, mythology, ritual, and cultural identity along a transnational spectrum. In recent exhibitions, he has appropriated cultural objects and historical artifacts together with painting, drawing, prints and new media as a way of accessing the past and re-interpreting the present in a trans-Caribbean dialogue.  Ballester has received numerous honors for his artistic work and has exhibited widely in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. His work is in numerous private and public collections.

 

Nicolle Blackwood – Jamaica

Nicolle Blackwood discovered her passion for drawing at the early age of eight.  This passion was nurtured during her high school years, during which time she earned several awards and wide recognition.   Born into a family of artists, Blackwood was inspired by her uncle renowned Jamaican artist Paul Blackwood, who encouraged her to pursue her passion. Ms. Blackwood   entered the Edna Manley College where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Art degree.  Since then Nicolle has participated in solo and group exhibitions across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. She is also the creative director of the fashion line Nicolle Nish, based in Kingston, Jamaica.

 

David Boothman – Trinidad & Tobago

David Boothman, a celebrated artist/musician from Trinidad and Tobago, has been involved in the arts for over thirty-five years. He has performed extensively at international jazz and Caribbean music festivals. Boothman is founder of Caribbean Art Jazz Ensemble (“CAJE”) and founder/director of Caribbean Arts Central. An accomplished visual artist, he is an Honors Graduate of Pratt Institute in New York. As a composer, artist, musician and educator, he has received numerous awards for arts-in-education, and multi-media art productions in Trinidad and the US. Through his work in the fields of arts, education, and performance Boothman   has expressed a commitment to creating and bridging traditional and contemporary cultural

modalities towards the refinement of the Caribbean identity.

 

Patricia Brintle - Haiti

Self-taught artist Patricia Brintle was born in Haiti and immigrated to the United States in 1964.  Although she has made the U.S. her residence, her colorful style reflects her native land. Her works on the Holocaust are on permanent display at the Holocaust Center of Temple Judea in New York and are used as teaching tools for visitors.  One of her religious works, The First Mother, travelled with the Black Madonna Exhibit which made its debut at the famed National Museum of Catholic Art and History in New York and toured museums throughout the United States. One of her paintings hangs in the permanent collection of Albert Schweitzer Institute in Hamden, Connecticut, and her images have been published in both secular and religious periodicals.

 

Ziggy Bruney - Dominica

Ziggy Nester Bruney attended the Saint Mary’s Academy and after graduation studied Architecture at the Dominica State College for three years all the while maintaining a burning passion for fine art. While attending high school he entered and won two art competitions, one local among other schools for an Olympic calendar and the other regional, presented by UNICEF and the Red Cross.  A few years later he met award winning artist and sculptor Roger Burnett, and commenced private classes under his tutelage. His art medium preferences are pencil (colored and graphite), pen, charcoal, and paints (acrylic and oil). Still only 22 years old, Ziggy Bruney continues to win awards for his creativity while refining and honing his craft.

 

Ras Ishi Butcher – Barbados

Ras Ishi Butcher emerged on the international art scene in 1992when he was selected winner of the Medal D’Orat the Caribbean and Latin American Biennale of Painting, held in Santo Domingo. In 1997, Ras Ishi completed post-graduate studies in fine art at the prestigious University of Superior Studies (ISA) in Havana, Cuba. His work has been published and discussed in several publications such as “Barbadian Art: What Kind of Mirror Image?” by Cummins, Thompson and Whittle, “Black Art and Culture in the 20^th Century” by Professor Richard Powell, and is represented in numerous public and private collections across the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe.

 

Timothy Callender – Barbados

A multitalented artist excelling at visual art and the spoken word, the late Barbadian Timothy Callender is best known across the Caribbean region as a creator of stories and characters which were brought to life by the late Barbadian actor and journalist Alfred Pragnell; himself an iconic figure in the cultural life of the Caribbean as it made the transition from colonial rule to become independent nations. He received his early training under the watchful of the late Karl Broodhagen, the transplanted Guyanese artist/sculptor who became an institution at Combermere School in Barbados. Callender’s art exhibits tremendous range from classic still life and renderings of his native Barbadian landscape, to explorations of the metaphysical realms. Timothy Callender’s work was collected by a sophisticated group of connoisseurs, who like many of his fans across the islands were shocked at the relatively early demise of this iconic cultural figure.

 

Andrea Cauthen – Jamaica

An emerging photographer and multimedia artist, Andrea Cauthen is a Jamaican-American from New York. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art from Spelman College, Andrea then went on to study fashion design receiving an Associate of Applied Science degree in fashion design from Parsons School of Design. Andrea enjoys the complex and demanding landscapes of both art and fashion, recently adding photography to her expanding portfolio. When she isn’t in her studio painting she captures images with her camera in the hope of communicating the realities of our ever changing world. Specializing in street, documentary and travel photography, Andrea’s goal is to photograph with honesty and integrity, always respecting the image in front of the lens. Recent publications of her work include National Geographic, Reggae France, Bloomberg Business Week, And Then, Specter Magazine and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

 

Adrian Compton – Barbados

Adrian Compton is a freelance artist living in Barbados. His work is displayed in private collections in the USA, UK, Sweden, Italy, Canada, and Barbados. He has won prizes for his work with the Barbados Industrial Development Corporation and Honors in the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA). HE works in pen & ink, pastel, acrylic, and also carves calabash. He has exhibited his paintings and drawings in the UK, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

 

Ras Bongo Congo I – Barbados

Since his conversion to the Rastafari faith in 1978, Ras Bongo Congo I has augmented his early training as a stonemason with a new found consciousness and has become one of the leading sculptors in Barbados today. 1992 saw Ras Bongo join with painter Ras Jahaziel Tafari for the ground- breaking exhibition “Let My People Go” at Queens Park Gallery in Bridgetown.  Ras Bongo Congo is a multiple Gold Award winner in Barbados’ National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (“N1FCA”) and his hardwood creations have been exhibited frequently in the United States and Europe.

 

Easton Davy – Nevis

A graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, this son of immigrants from the island of Nevis has made his mark in the worlds of art and jazz with his expressive line drawings and paintings which music fans will recognize from album/CD covers for many of the world’s great jazz artists. He has collaborated with musicians on both sides of the Atlantic to create spontaneous works of art at major jazz festivals such as Newport Jazz, Rhode Island, USA, and North Sea Jazz, Rotterdam, the Netherlands where he has been featured visual artist. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Netherlands, while his images have been commissioned by the National Basketball Association and Bravo Television Network as well as major records labels such as Blue Note. Musical luminaries such as George Clinton and several others collect his work.

 

Francks Deceus - Haiti

Francks Francois Décéus continues to emerge as one of the important painters of his generation. Born in Haiti in 1966, Décéus and his family moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was nine years old. It wasn’t until he graduated from Long Island University with a degree in Sociology that he turned to making art as a career. Stylistically his work incorporates many of the influences and aesthetic forms of the 40’s and 50’s visual artists like William Johnson and Jacob Lawrence, and reverberates with some of the artistic strains of his native Haiti. His modernist style combines figurative, abstract and layered elements and relies heavily on a simplification of form and function. His work is characterized by a semiotic economy, minimalist use of imagery and a deliberately limited palette range within series of work. Francks Décéus was profiled in a 1998 issue of the International Review of African American Art as “one of the leading young modern painters of his generation, whose work depicts a high degree of sensitivity to social issues and his culture”. He is currently featured in “100 New York Painters”, an extensive survey of significant New York painters and their widely diverse works. His work has been commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. His work is in the permanent collection of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Xavier University. Décéus has studied printmaking at the venerated Bob Blackburn Printmaking workshop and in June of 2007 completed on a month-long printmaking residency in Gentilly, France. He was the recipient, in February 2008, of the Samella Lewis Award for Painting in the Hampton University Museum’s juried exhibition, “New Power Generation 2008”.

 

Minna Dunn – Barbados

Minna Dunn was born and raised on Long Island in an household with Barbadian roots.  Dunn’s affair with art started as a collector and after meeting   master artist Frank Frazier in 1992, she started a career as an art dealer.  Over the last eight years with extensive exposure to artists from across the globe and with the mentoring or Ernani Silva, Dunn has been inspired to explore her creative side.  The outcome has been a body of art using acrylic paint and mixed media collage on paper. Women’s clothing, sisterhood and unity have been the themes often seen in her artwork.

 

Laura R. Gadson – Trinidad & Tobago

Artist Laura R. Gadson lives and works in the village of Harlem, NYC. She has been exhibited and published both in the United States and abroad.  Her artistry has been reproduced for public art in the Harlem Community. While continually exploring the limits of needle mediums including crochet, embroidery and tatting, her work centers around creating fine as well as functional works of art in the gamut of realm known as quilting. Ms. Gadson considers herself a cultural griot speaking in a language of textile and mixed media. Working in a Folk Art aesthetic that crosses the lines between fine art and craft her quilts tell classic and contemporary stories inspired by her rich African American and Trinidadian heritage.

 

Ras Ilix Heartman – Barbados

Ras Ilix Heartman, wood sculptor and farmer, was born in Barbados.  His first international exposure was at the Third Havana Biennial in Cuba which was followed by  the “In The Spirit Festival" at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Since then his work has been exhibited at numerous exhibitions in Barbados and in the U.S.  His sculpture Melchizedek was awarded "Best In Show" at the 1997 Black History Month Exhibition held at New York’s Hintersteiner Gallery in Washington Heights.  His 2012 one man show received critical acclaim at the Queen’s Park Gallery in Barbados.

 

 

Bernard Hoyes – Jamaica

Hoyes currently lives and works in Palm Springs, California, however his career began at an early age in Kingston, Jamaica. He began early, studying at the Institute of Jamaica, Junior Art Center. At fifteen he moved to New York City to continue his academic and artistic endeavors. Classes at the Art Students League introduced him to the art scene in N.Y.C. He continued his studies at Vermont Academy, in Saxton River, VT and in 1974, he received a B.F.A. in Painting from California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland that set him on a Path for recognition and rewards. In the early 80’s he began works that recall his Afro-Caribbean roots, specifically the rituals of African Spirituality and Christianity, since the Middle Passage. He subsequently won awards of Excellence for his famous “Revival Series,” nationally and internationally. Hoyes has participated in numerous solo exhibitions here and abroad. He has created murals in the inner city of Los Angeles, Ca, has curated exhibitions and held a position on the board at the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles. His works have been featured in numerous television and film productions, and collected internationally.

 

Ras Jahaziel – Barbados

Ras Jahaziel received his early introduction to the arts under the late Karl Broodhagen at Combermere School, Barbados. His paintings have been exhibited widely in Barbados and the U.S., in many cases, accompanied by a full presentation of his essays, poems and videos. As his statement indicates, “… my art reflects the Rastafari philosophy and way of life. Therefore, it manifests itself in two forms: at one time torturous, because of the Black experience; and another, Edenic, because of the visions of the future. Many paintings are actual visual manifestations of the Rastafari songs of redemption.”

 

Laura James - Antigua

Laura James has been working as a professional artist and illustrator for over twenty years.  In addition to painting sacred images from various religions, she portrays women, families, and scenes of everyday life; blending intricate patterns, text, vibrant colors and sometimes surreal imagery into what she calls “art for the people.” A first generation Antiguan-American Laura is best known for her illustrations in The Book of the Gospels lectionary published in 2000 by Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago, Illinois. An award winning edition of the four gospels, it includes 34 paintings rendered in the Ethiopian Christian Art style which over the years Ms. James has made her own. The book is used worldwide by numerous Christian denominations and her religious art is at the forefront of the movement toward a more inclusive representation of Biblical figures. Laura James’ work is widely collected and exhibited, and Ms. James has also organized many exhibitions and special projects. Represented by Bridgeman Art Library for more than a decade, her images have been published in hundreds of publications and media. Ms. James recently completed a commissioned to illustrate a children's picture book titled Anna Carries Water by Jamaican-Canadian writer Olive Senior. Published by Tradewind Books, her first attempt at this genre has received many favorable reviews. She lives and works in the Bronx, NY.

 

Neville Legall - Barbados

 

Glen Martin – Trinidad & Tobago

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and currently living in New York City, Glen Martin is a multitalented artist that works in a variety of media, including figurative painting, illustration and crafts. Early recognition of his talent won him a full scholarship to the prestigious Pratt Institute where he earned his degree in painting and illustration. His paintings continue to be exhibited and collected in North America, Trinidad & Tobago, and beyond.

 

Ademola Olugebefola – US Virgin Islands

Ademola began his professional career as a bassist, playing with several small ensembles throughout the New York metropolitan area during the late 50s and early 60s. He retired from playing music in the late sixties to devote full time to the visual sciences. However, Ademola has continually incorporated musical ideas and theories in his extensive body of work over the last four decades in hundreds of exhibitions at major American museums, universities and cultural institutions as well as internationally. Born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Dr. Olugebefola has lectured and participated in forums at leading universities, museums and cultural institutions in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. He is a highly respected cultural activist and renowned Harlem artist whose art and career papers are in the permanent collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black ulture, Hatch Billops Archives, Howard University, and scores of other well-respected American institutions.

 

Junior Parris – Barbados

Junior Parris lives and breathes art. Born in Barbados, he is resident part time in both Paris, France, and Barbados. By day Junior represents artists from the Diaspora who are based in Paris and exhibits their work in Barbados and beyond. Over the years he has perfected a romantic realism which renders his own paintings with an ethereal quality almost reminiscent of the old masters. His works have been exhibited in the Caribbean, Europe, and the USA.

 

Gail Pounder-Speede - Barbados

Gail Pounder Speede’s paintings, prints and installations have gained her increasing notice in her native Barbados, as well as abroad. Since graduating with her Bachelors in Fine Art Degree from the Barbados Community College she has completed post graduate studies at the University of Leicester, UK. Pounder-Speede has exhibited in Barbados, London, as well as Suriname as part of a Barbados contingent to CARIFESTA. Over the past decade her work has been showcased in notable exhibitions in Barbados, New York City, France and Belgium. Her creations are expressive and idiosyncratic, and are further enhanced by her use of multimedia skills. Part of her statement reads, “My pieces relate to each other, forming an environmental installation: a soft passionate painful journey into the heart of a life. The art may exist on its own for it will have its own story, yet the pilgrimages create a scrap book of travels. The journey continues with each new horizon.”

 

Ras Akyem I Ramsay – Barbados

A graduate of Jamaica’s Edna Manley School of Art, Ras Akyem I is a veteran exhibitor throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, England, and the U.S.  In 1996 Ras Akyem's paintings won the Gold Medal at the Third Biennial of Caribbean and Latin American Painting, held in Santo Domingo, and was part of the collective submission by Barbadian artists which won the Country  a Gold Medal. During 1995-1997 Ras Akyem successfully completed postgraduate studies at Cuba’s prestigious art academy, the University of Superior Arts (ISA).  His work has been published and discussed in such publications as “Barbadian Art: What Kind of Mirror Image?” and “Caribbean Art”, by Veerle Poupeye. In 1998 he was awarded the Barbados Service Star in that year’s Barbados Independence Honors. Ras Akyem I is the recipient of the 2012 Caribbean Luminary of the Arts Award.

 

Steve Reid - Barbados

Steve Reid is a University of the West Indies trained agriculturist who has worked within the agricultural and financial services sectors for over two decades. Pottery making, however, has always appealed to his creative spirit and was brought to light in the early ’90s with displays at the Bridgetown Market and at the Barbados Crop Over Festival. His work often shows plant life and natural features of his environment, and embodies an ancient spirit in a unique, contemporary style.

 

Arlette St. Hill - Barbados

Arlette St.Hill was born in Barbados and is a graduate of the Barbados Community College, Erdiston Teacher’s College, The Jamaica School of Art, and the Teachers’ Technical Training Institute, Madras - India. Arlette has a degree in Art education, diploma in Curriculum Design and the Development of Instructional Materials and certificates in Multimedia Production and Educational Text Book Publishing. Her artwork explores a variety of mediums and techniques which include Acrylics, Oil Pastel, Markers, Pen and Ink, Painting, Drawing, Print Making and Collage. Arlette exhibits frequently in Barbados, and has also  exhibited in Jamaica, Boston, Washington, New York, Cuba, North Carolina, Miami, London and France.

 

Nikolas Sealy – Barbados

Nikolas Sealy is an imaginative creator from a long line of educators. This self taught Barbadian artist expresses himself mainly in graphite pencil and sometimes ventures into coloured pencil when he creates his surreal pieces and landscapes. Nikolas has also carved out a reputation  for creating  in photo realistic drawings of people and animals.  Still early in his career Nikolas has already received accolades from NIFCA where he garnered three bronze awards in 2011 and one bronze and one silver award in 2012. This self actualized artist has a craft that is still emerging.

 

Shimoda - Dominica

Shimoda was born in Queens, New York, the third child of creative parents, one of whom immigrated to New York from the Caribbean island of Dominica. She is a mixed-media artist that has been living in Harlem, New York for twenty-plus years. Her business, Shimoda Accessories, has a range of work that includes beaded jewelry, fiber and book arts. Shimoda Accessories are sought after by fashion editors and stylists who have helped bring the collection to the consumer via the Cosby Show, Essence, YSB, Black Elegance, Class, New Word, a host of local newspapers and the highly touted "Jumping the Broom: The African-American Wedding Planner" by Harriette Cole. The visibility of Shimoda Accessories has been heightened by entertainers Queen Latifa, Halle Berry, Whitney Houston, Cassandra Wilson, Kim Coles and Vernon Reid, actress Angela Bassett, actor Ben Kingsley, supermodel Naomi Campbell, filmmaker Ayoka Chenzera and the former president of Spellman College, Jonnetta Cole.

 

Marlon “Ilon” Skeete – Barbados

Marlon Skeete, or Ilon as he prefers to be known, is a wood sculptor who works with most Caribbean hardwoods. A primarily self taught artist, his aesthetic exudes a spirituality borne of his Rastafarian faith and technical brilliance which displays his talent as a builder and tradesman. Ilon has participated in exhibitions in his native Barbados as well as the New York, USA. His work is held in several private collections in Barbados and abroad.

 

Afreekan Southwell – Antigua/USVI

Afreekan Southwell was born in Antigua. He moved to the US Virgin Islands in 1981. He is a self taught artist whose creativity ranges from oil paintings and poetry to acting and music. He is a master wood carver and drummer. His wood carvings reflect his love for his African Heritage. He uses mahogany as his medium and with his hammer and chisel creates a transformation of this beautiful wood that is nothing less than spectacular, Afreekan has recently added a new skill to his already long list of talents, wood turning; creating smaller objects that exhibit his extraordinary gift of communicating with the wood he is working with. Afreekan’s first solo exhibition in New York City, “Reflection of  a Culture”, debuted in 2001 to positive critical reviews.

 

Ava Tomlinson – Jamaica

Jamaican painter Ava Tomlinson earned her BFA from Pratt Institute, and received additional training at New York City Art Students League. Her work has been exhibited widely in New York and is part of several private and public collections. In her words, “My work is a rich mixture of color, form and light, rooted in an American/Jamaican/European culture.”

 

Tabitha Theogene – Haiti

Tabitha Theogene is a Brooklyn born artist who received her early training during her senior year of high school at Grayson Tech at Grayson High School. Theogene continued her training at Kingsborough Community College where she recently received the Fine Arts Award while graduating with an Associate’s degree in Fine Arts. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at Hofstra University. Mythology, folk stories, stories in religion and other tales which contain morals or lessons that are taught and learned in reality and how it affects us spiritually and mentally is what drives the artist to paint. She is inspired by artists who were also moved to make images based on morals, events, other aspects in life and within ourselves such as Frida Kahlo, Salvidor Dali, Pablo Picasso, Jean Michel Basquiat among others. Theogene has participated in many shows in Brooklyn and the wider New York City area. She has exhibited at City College, Dorsey's Art Gallery, and Medgar Evers College. She is also a member of Dorsey's Art Gallery, under the mentorship of the great Otto Neals.

 

Alfred Weekes – Barbados

Alfred Weekes has been creating wire sculptures since the 1970s and his work has been exhibited widely throughout the Caribbean and North America. In 1993 Mr. Weekes was judged BEST IN SHOW at the 1993 Manchester Art Association show in Manchester, Connecticut. In August 1998, Mr. Weekes' first one-man exhibition, “In Person", consisting entirely of colorful relief sculptures, received critical acclaimatBrooklyn Moon Café in New York City. His technique has continued to evolve and his sculpture has become almost painterly in rendition. Mr. Weekes’ work is held in private collections throughout the Caribbean, Europe, and the U.S.

 

David G. Wilson – Dominica

David G. Wilson was born on the island of Dominica and currently lives in NYC.

“I am primarily a self-taught artist who, for the past forty years, has endeavored to depict, on a two dimensional support, an image that transcends the third dimension within our three dimensional terrestrial space. I create or interpret recognizable and plausible images and project therein a hitherto unseen alternative reality that is mutually inclusive, coexists with and is congruent with that recognizable and realistic source image. My goal is to transcend the third dimension in painting and sculpture and create what may constitute a visual experience of a parallel universe, all within our recognizable three dimensional terrestrial space. I am of the opinion that only through art can we visually experience another dimension beyond our three dimensional terrestrial space. That is my ultimate artistic objective.”

 

“4 Bajan Masters” – special exhibit featuring:

 

Fielding Babb - Barbados

Fielding Babb is one of Barbados’ most enduring and widely collected artists. Babb’s trademark is a vigorous impasto relief style, in which he applies the paint with quick stroke of the palette knife. He works rapidly, infused with the sheer joy of painting and it is fascinating to watch as the image takes form and life in his skillful hands. For some 50 years Babb has painted the sights of Barbados, its unique vernacular architecture and its way of life. He started painting as a young 12 year old boy and encouraged by pioneer painters such as Karl Broodhagen, he chose art as a career. He has in turn become a great influence on young Barbadian artists.

 

Timothy Callender – Barbados

A multitalented artist excelling at visual art and the spoken word, the late Barbadian Timothy Callender is best known across the Caribbean region as a creator of stories and characters which were brought to life by the late Barbadian actor and journalist Alfred Pragnell; himself an iconic figure in the cultural life of the Caribbean as it made the transition from colonial rule to become independent nations. He received his early training under the watchful of the late Karl Broodhagen, the transplanted Guyanese artist/sculptor who became an institution at Combermere School in Barbados. Callender’s art exhibits tremendous range from classic still life and renderings of his native Barbadian landscape, to explorations of the metaphysical realms. Timothy Callender’s work was collected by a sophisticated group of connoisseurs, who like many of his fans across the islands were shocked at the relatively early demise of this iconic cultural figure.

 

Clifford Hobbs – Barbados

 

Carlton Murrell – Barbados

Carlton began his painting career at 18, inspired by the landscape of his native Barbados. Murrell later migrated to the Capital City of Art – New York and was awarded a scholarship to pursue advanced studies at the Art Students League.  He later attended the Pan American School of Fine Art and Pel’s School of Commercial Art and Illustration. He has exhibited in museums and educational institutions, as well as numerous galleries throughout the United States. His works hang in permanent collections of Carver Federal Savings Bank, the Copper Corporation of Chile, South America, Howard University, and the Central Bank of Barbados. Mr. Murrell has received numerous awards, prizes and citations.

 

“Diaspora Dialogue” – special exhibit of Global Diaspora Artists

 

Shenna K. Vaughn - U.S.A

Shenna Vaughn’s intuitive abstract paintings tell subconscious narratives of the deep stories of the soul. Shenna’s use of warm colors sets the stage for the expression of the personal thoughts that all must confront. Her work invites the audience to enter a personal conversation of reflection and confession. While these subjects are introduced through her particular use of pigments and textures, the symbolism used uninhibitedly exposes vulnerability. Shenna’s use of symbols also acts as both a stabilizing balance and an ingenious hint towards her abstraction. Figures are represented by bold geometrics and hard lines, forcing the content driven work to command our attention. Yet despite the power of this technique, in reality it is only the means to an end. Shenna’s introspective work effectively acts as a reminder that it is important to listen to the story of the self.

Shenna was born and raised in Queens, New York. She attended FIT and received her Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College. Her work has been included in national group exhibitions at Skylight Gallery (January 2014), Prizm Art Fair (December 2013), Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (December 2013) Rush Arts Gallery (November 2013), The Baobab Cultural Center(August 2013), Art Prize (September 2013)  Gallery Guichard (August 2013) African American Museum of Dallas Texas (April, 2013), Jamaica Performing Arts Center (February 2013), Rush Arts Gallery (October 2012), The WAH Center (October 2012), Gallery Guichard (August & May 2012) and Miami Scope Art Basel (December 2011) as well as international group exhibitions at Agora Gallery (February 2011) and Caelum Gallery (July 2010). Other group exhibitions include Ocean Hill Gallery (May 2008, May 2009) and Hudson Guild Gallery (September 2008). She has had solo shows at Jamaica Performing Arts Center (February 2014), Le Grand Dakar (January 2011) and Cape Liberty Gallery (July 2008).

Her work was cataloged in Prizm’s Art for Art Basel to represent Gallery Guichard (December 2013) and Agora Gallery in (May 2011). She has competed in the annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series in conjunction with Rush Arts Gallery and was one of the winners in (December 2011) and a New York Finalist in November 2013 and October 2012. Her work was apart of the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage (March 2013) and is currently on Public display at the government Social Security Building and Resorts World Casino with an installation for Black history month at Jamaica Performing Arts Center. Her work was also featured in Brooklyn Reader (January 2014), Communities of Color newspaper (March 2013) Queens Chronicle newspaper (January 2011) and she was a featured artist in Dynamically Active Movement Magazine, an online magazine. She has been commissioned to create paintings and murals by Seven Angels Theatre and SimonSays Production, a movie production company that used her work in Night Catches Us (2009).

 

 

JW Ford – USA

J.W. Ford is an accomplished artist who has worked in watercolor, acrylic and airbrush, charcoal, graphite and digital computer art. Most recently she has begun working in metal - embossing and painting on copper, brass and aluminum. She studied at the venerable Art Students League, School of Visual Arts, Fashion Institute of Technology and The Craft Students League, all in New York City. Jay's artwork has been exhibited in notable galleries in New York City and Los Angeles, while her piece "Time Out" won a place in the prestigious Taos Watercolor Society Show at the Van Vechten Gallery in Taos, New Mexico. She was honored by the New York Urban League in their “Salute to African American Women Artists” and her work has been in the art collection of EBONY/JET Magazine's New York Office as well as being featured in national publications such as Decor Magazine and Art Business News. Jay’s early art was published by Icart Graphics of California and distributed throughout the United States and Europe. One of the prints "Natural Beauty" was part of the set on an episode of ABC network sitcom "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper".

 

Anthony Romain – USA

Anthony Romain was born in South Side of Chicago and later moved to Harlem, New York with his family. A self-taught artist, who always had a knack in drawing amazing pieces since early childhood. His father encouraged him to develop this extraordinary gift, he bought him his first art set and camera. His High School art teacher Mr. Thomas Laidman, encouraged and influenced him, under his guidance, Tony was subsequently awarded a scholarship to New York University. Later on, he transferred to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois School of Design. He graduated with a B.A degree in Design in 1971, with a concentration in Photography, Graphic Arts and Package Design. Returning to New York, he continued to further his education by attending Fashion Institute of Technology where he studied graphics , and Manhattan Community College studying Corporate and Cable Communication with a concentration in Video Production and Post Video Editing. Tony has also received Certification in Desk Top Publishing at Data Quest System in Fairfield. New Jersey. His art has been on exhibition in New York City, as well as Camden and Englewood, New Jersey. He was greatly influenced by his formative years and world travels. This is seen in his art which speaks volumes with his flair for Jazz and the rich and colorful African diaspora. He has been able to create joy, pain and despair with his use of brilliant colors and eye catching details, allowing his artwork to be viewed in a more realistic and impressive manner. The process he is using for his artistic development is acrylics and pastels. Tony is a professional photographer and uses the computer, IPad and Wacom Drawing Tablet as his automated canvas and brushes to create his Digital Art.

 

Danny Simmons – USA

Danny Simmons, Jr., is an American abstract painter from Queens, NY, who once coined his particular style of painting as “neo-African Abstract Expressionism.” His talent and passion for the arts reaches beyond the canvas; He is a published author, poet, painter and art philanthropist.   He has become a leader in the art world with his philanthropic ventures, artistic talents and creative mind and drive. The New York Times, in reviewing one of his art exhibitions, stated that Simmons “injects freshness” into his abstracts, and that they are “meticulously rendered and decoratively impressive.” Today, his works appear in prominent locales around the globe, including: Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Museum,  Chase Manhattan Bank, Deutsche Bank, Schomburg Center for Black Culture, The Smithsonian, United Nations, and, on an international scope has shown work in France, Amsterdam and Ghana. In 2015, he will serve as a scholarly consultant for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC.

 

Ernani Silva – Brazil

Ernani Silva, artist, curator, educator and mentor was born in the hills outside of Rio de Janeiro.  He encountered many adversities.  At four years of age he picked up the pencil, pen and natural fruit juices and applied them to paper.  He had his first gallery showing in 1969.  He also introduced painting as an alternative to violence for youth in the hills of Rio. Ernani is known for his freedom of expression and use of strong vibrant colors that move across the paper as if the figures were dancing or playing a musical instrument.  He speaks several different languages and is passionate about art and art history.  The language he speaks best is with his brush or with the paint directly from the tube applied to canvas. In keeping with his commitment to his friends, Ernani’s works are all originals on paper, wood or canvas.  Art has always been a great investment and there is no better time to own an original by Ernani Silva.  In 2009 he celebrated 40 years of exhibiting his original work in New York art galleries.

 

TAFA – Ghana

TAFA, is an award-winning painter whose work is exhibited and collected internationally. His style is characterized by a richly vivid palette and heavily textured surface. He obtained a BFA degree from the College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He currently lives in Harlem, New York. TAFA was named 2010 Sport Artist of the Year by the American Sport Art Museum and Archives. Galleries, educational and cultural institutions in the US, Japan, Europe, and Africa have celebrated and exhibited TAFA’s paintings. His work may be found in numerous permanent public and private collections, including the Superior Court, Washington, D.C, Barclays Bank, Sparrow Hospital, Michigan, Shell Co, Ghana’s National Museum, Carver Federal Bank and former New York City Mayor, David N. Dinkins, Bryant Gumbel and the Bill Clinton. “Myth, worship and ritual is what attracts me, the arena as a landscape or the athlete or player as portraiture is not what inspires me. Sport as a metaphor for life and faith fascinates me - our collective allegiance and dedication to the gods and deities of the game, the mass psychology and identification, almost prehistoric and primal. It is the mythic power of the stadium, the arena, which has become the new basilica and pyramid, synagogue and temple.” says TAFA. This myth and almost religious relevance is also captured in his paintings of marches and protestors.

 

Willie Torbert – USA

Willie Torbert was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1959. He studied art at the Pratt Institute, City College of New York, and Medgar Evers College. Before becoming a full-time artist, Torbert taught art in the New York Public School system for ten years. Torbert uses a variety of media to produce highly stylized representations of African American life. Views of everyday life as well as from the music world are prominent in his work. He founded Zakiya Art Gallery in 1993. Torbert currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.