National Biennial 2012 – Musgrave Tributes: Ebony G. Patterson (Bronze, 2012)

Ebony G. Patterson was awarded the Institute of Jamaica’s Bronze Musgrave medal in 2012 and, as has become customary, is honoured with a small tribute exhibition in the 2012 National Biennial. The following is the citation that was read as the Musgrave Award Ceremony at the Institute on October 10, 2012:

The Institute of Jamaica recognizes Miss Ebony G. Patterson for merit in the field of Art.

Ebony G. Patterson is one of the most compelling emerging talents in Jamaican art. After graduating from the Edna Manley College in 2004, she obtained her Masters in Fine Arts at the Washington University in St. Louis in 2006.

Ebony G. Patterson – Untitled III (Khani and Krew, From the Disciplez Series, 2009), mixed media on paper, Collection: Herman van Asbroeck

A regular exhibitor a the National Gallery since 2006, she had her greatest impact to date in the Young Talent V exhibition, with photographically derived, embellished tapestries and the decorated body of a car mounted on a plinth as a “sculpture.” Hers is a uniquely Caribbean aesthetic that melds elements of “high” and “low” art and draws from carnival costuming, Haitian sequined flags, and above all the “bling” of Jamaican Dancehall fashion. Always concerned with issues of gender, sexuality and the body, Patterson’s current work explores changing notions of masculinity in Jamaican society.

National Biennial 2012 – Musgrave Tributes: Bryan McFarlane (Silver, 2012)

Bryan McFarlane – Masking Face, 1984, oil on canvas, 91 x 152.5 cm, Collection: NGJ (Gift of the Artist in honour of the NGJ’s 20th anniversary)

Bryan McFarlane was awarded the Institute of Jamaica’s Silver Musgrave medal in 2012 and, as has become customary, is honoured with a small tribute exhibition in the 2012 National Biennial. The following is the citation that was read as the Musgrave Award Ceremony at the Institute on October 10, 2012:

The Institute of Jamaica recognizes Professor Bryan McFarlane for outstanding merit in the field of Art.

Born in historic Moore Town, Portland, Bryan McFarlane’s artistic career began with his enrollment in the Jamaica School of Art, from where he graduated in 1976. He earned a Masters of Fine Art at the Massachusetts College of Art in 1983. Since then McFarlane has distinguished himself as a painter with an extensive local and international exhibition record and as a Professor of painting who has taught at prestigious tertiary institutions.

Bryan McFarlane – Untitled (From the Egg Series), 2001, oil on canvas,
127 x 106.7 cm, Collection: Mr & Mrs Wayne Gallimore

National Biennial 2012 – Musgrave Tributes: Omari S. Ra (Silver, 2011)

Omari S. Ra – Self-Portrait (2012)

Omari S. Ra was awarded the Institute of Jamaica’s Silver Musgrave medal in 2011 and, as has become customary, is honoured with a small tribute exhibition in the 2012 National Biennial. The following is the citation that was read as the Musgrave Award Ceremony at the Institute in 2011:

The Institute of Jamaica recognizes Omari Sediki Ra for outstanding merit in the field of Art.

Omari Sediki Ra (also known as “Afrikan”) was born in Kingston, 1960. He studied painting at the Jamaica School of Art (now the Edna Manley School of the Visual Arts) and graduated in 1983. More recently, he completed his Master of Fine Arts studies at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth. Omari Ra’s exhibition repertoire is quite extensive beginning with his 1983 graduation group exhibition at the Jamaica School of Art and the first Young Talent exhibition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in 1985. That same year, Ra held his first solo exhibition at the Suti Gallery in Berne, Switzerland. Ra continues to be a regular participant in major Jamaican exhibitions such as Curator’s Eye I and the National Biennial – where, for the latter, he was awarded the prestigious Aaron Matalon Award in 2004. Ra has continually maintained his international presence, exhibiting throughout Europe and the Americas. Important international exhibitions include the 1986 and 1994 Havana Biennale and the 1995 Johannesburg Biennale.

Omari S. Ra – Jesus Christ (1986), mixed media on canvas, Collection: NGJ (Guy McIntosh Donation)

Call for Entries – 2010 National Biennial

Installation View, National Biennial III, 2008

The NGJ is launching its call for entries to the 2010 National Biennial, the fourth edition of this biennial national exhibition which succeeded the Annual National Exhibition in 2004. This year’s biennial, the National Biennial IV, will be held from December 12, 2010 to March 5, 2011. As has become customary, the National Biennial IV will include special tributes to any artists who have been granted Musgrave medals in 2009 or 2010. There will also be a special tribute to the late Jamaican master Albert Huie, who passed away in 2010.

The exhibition comprises an invited and a juried section. The invited section accommodates artists who have, in the estimation of the NGJ’s Exhibitions Committee, achieved a significant record of achievement and national or international acclaim. The juried section is open to all Jamaican artists and all artists resident in Jamaica and selections will be made by a panel of judges appointed by the NGJ’s Exhibitions Committee. The rules and regulations of the exhibition are attached, along with the entry forms for the juried exhibition.  Entries to the juried Invited artists will be notified and will receive their entry forms directly.

National Biennial 2010 – rules and regulations

National Biennial 2010 entry form – Juried

Installation view - National Biennial III, 2008 - tribute to Musgrave medallists Howard Moo-Young and Phillip Supersad