The second of the two annex exhibitions of the NGJ’s Barrington: A Retrospective (January 8-April 14, 2012) exhibitions is at the Bank of Jamaica.

Barrington in the 1970s chaired the Bank of Jamaica’s art acquisitions committee and produced two commissions for the central bank. One is the sculptural installation Trust (1975) which was produced in cooperation with master ceramist Cecil Baugh; the second and probably better known is the mural size painting The Garden Party (1975), which is on permanent view in the lobby of the Bank’s auditorium. The Garden Party presented a satirical panorama of life and politics in Jamaica in the 1970s. This annex exhibition consists of studies and a painting related to The Garden Party.

Please enjoy this short video on the Bank of Jamaica annex exhibition!

One of two annex exhibitions to Barrington: A Retrospective (January 8-April 14, 2012) is on view at the Olympia Art Centre. This annex exhibition,which is titled Our African Heritage, presents a specific subset of Barrington’s history painting, where the artist explores our African heritage. This annex exhibition is organized around the massive mural Our Heritage (1974) at the Olympia Art Centre and comprises related studies, other canvases that explore our links with Africa, and Barrington’s vast compendium of portraits of Pan-Africanist heroes, which includes portraits of our own Marcus Garvey.

Please enjoy this short video on the Olympia annex exhibition!

The National Gallery of Jamaica regrets the passing of Jamaican artist Hylton Nembhard (1950-2011). This is our tribute to him, with thanks to Herman van Asbroeck for images of his recent work.

Hylton Nembhard (1950-2012) received early training at the Junior Centre of the Institute of Jamaica and later attended the Jamaica School of Art, now the Edna Manley College. He exhibited regularly over the years, starting with the Festival Fine Arts exhibition in the 1960s and the NGJ’s Annual National in the 1970s. He also exhibited his work at the Bolivar Gallery and Amaicraft.

Nembhard’s earlier work consisted of figurative woodcarvings, in local woods such as lignumvitae and cedar, but more recently he worked inventively with recuperated materials, especially sheet metal, which he hammered into relief shapes, combined with fibers and sometimes also painted.

The NGJ’s Chief Curator David Boxer contributed the following reflection on hearing of Nembhard’s passing:

Hylton Nembhard was one of those interesting hybrid artists that the Jamaican Art movement has thrown up from time to time. He began his career as a woodcarver (though he has also worked in metal) that we would today define as an Intuitive, but he sought out the advice and training available to young artists associated with the Institute of Jamaica in the fifties, sixties and early seventies. These associations resulted in his early vital work being somewhat tempered. When I arrived at the NGJ in 1974 two of his carvings an Eve, and a Rasta Head, both done in the early seventies attracted me and over the years I have shown the Rasta Head in one of the Intuitives galleries at the National Gallery. He has never however been included in any of the exhibitions which have virtually established the Intuitive canon. This Rasta Head remains, in my opinion his finest work, full of vitality and raw expressive energy.

Nembhard’s work indeed defies the categorizations that have been proposed in Jamaican art history. He was an eccentric and this became more pronounced in his later life but his artistic style and subject matter always remained rooted in the local popular culture, particularly the world of Rastafari. His work also existed in dialogue with the artistic language of mainstream artists such as Osmond Watson and, even, the Rasta-inspired woodcarvings that proliferate in the local tourist market.

Irrespective of how he is categorized, or whether he can be categorized at all, Hylton Nembhard possessed a powerful artistic voice and deserves to be studied and recognized as a significant figure in the context of Jamaican art.

Note: We had initially reported that Hylton Nembhard had passed away in 2012 but have since learned that it occurred on December 13, 2011.

Barrington Watson - portrait of A.D. Scott (c1969), A.D. Scott Collection, NGJ

For some time now, the NGJ has been refurbishing and reinstalling its permanent collections and in 2010 we started work on the modern Jamaican section, “Jamaican Art: the 20th Century”. We have now continued this process and incorporated into this section a gallery with selections from the A.D. Scott Collection, a major group of donations to the NGJ that provide a vivid picture of Jamaican art in the post-Independence decades. Scott was very actively involved in the art of that period, by means of the Contemporary Jamaican Artists’ Association, which he chaired for many, his friendships with Barrington Watson, Eugene Hyde and Karl Parbooshingh, and the 1974 establishment of the Olympia International Art Centre. With the Barrington Watson retrospective currently on view, until April 14, and the Jamaica 50 observations in progress, we could not think of a better moment to open this new section of our permanent exhibitions. Here is more about A.D. Scott and the A.D. Scott Collection:

Ainsworth David Scott, OD (1912-2004)

A.D. Scott, or ‘Scotty” as he was affectionately referred to by those familiar with him, was born in Kingston, Jamaica on January 27, 1912. A.D. Scott was among the first to attend the Kingston College which was established in 1925.

Later, he studied at the McGill University in Montreal, Canada, gaining a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering. Whilst in Canada, he further developed his skills as a highly competent engineer, securing key positions including Senior Assistant Engineer in the Royal Canadian Air Force and engineer-in-charge of Aerodrome Construction for the Canadian Government. Upon his return to Jamaica in 1945, he was appointed engineer-in-charge of construction for the University College of the West Indies. His later contributions to national infrastructural development would include the construction of the U.W.I Chapel, the National Stadium and the Hope Reservoir, earning him the title of Jamaican Master Builder.

The interior of the Olympia International Art Centre - please note Barrington Watson's 1974 Our Heritage mural on the top floor

Throughout his professional life, A.D. Scott passionately championed the development of Jamaican visual arts culture.  He firmly believed that the arts could and should be integrated within the business community and that the visual arts could provide a path to cultural development. As a prolific and fanatic patron of the arts, A.D. Scott boasted the largest comprehensive collection of artworks from various traditional and contemporary Jamaican artists by the mid-seventies. Additionally, he became the Chairman of the Contemporary Jamaican Artists Association when the group was active during the early sixties to mid-seventies and established the Olympia International Art Centre in 1974 where an active programme of art exhibitions as well as other cultural events was maintained. He also assisted greatly in the formalization of the National Gallery of Jamaica, serving as board director and benefactor and frequently donated pieces from his own collection for various philanthropic ventures. His most significant contribution was however the donation of what is now known as the A.D. Scott Collection.

Alvin Marriott - Boysie (1962), A.D. Scott Collection, NGJ

A.D. Scott was the recipient of several national honours, including a Silver Musgrave medal (1978) and a Centenary Medal (1980) from the Institute of Jamaica, as well the Order of Distinction (c1975). A.D. Scott passed away on June 16, 2004.

The A.D. Scott Collection

A.D. Scott began collecting Jamaican artwork some time during the late forties. By the mid-seventies, he had amassed an estimated six hundred pieces of work, the largest collection of Jamaican art of its time. The artists he patronized included the likes of Edna Manley (from whom he acquired his first piece, The Hills of Papine, 1949), Carl Abrahams, Albert Huie, Alvin Marriott, David Pottinger and Ralph Campbell as well as younger contemporaries of the time such as Karl Parboosingh, Barrington Watson, Eugene Hyde, Osmond Watson, Gloria Escoffery and much later, Milton George. In an interview with Basil McFarlane in 1974, Scott described a collector as “a fanatic for either colour or form or … the acquisition of other people’s experience.” Artist and writer, Gloria Escoffery added to this sentiment in 1988, when she wrote, “Scotty was a delighted spectator as experimentation by artists in the main-stream produced a plethora of adaptations of international styles.”

Karl Parboosingh - Cement Company (1966), A.D. Scott Collection, NGJ

A.D. Scott’s association with the National Gallery of Jamaica is remembered not only for his tenure as a board member in its early years but also for his generosity in lending works from his personal collection for key exhibitions – such as the travelling exhibition organized by the National Gallery and Smithsonian Institution Travelling Exhibition Service in 1982 – as well as periodic full and partial donations to the National Gallery’s Collection. Later, the National Gallery staged an exhibition of one hundred and one works from Scott’s collection in 1988.

Two sets of artworks share the title “The A.D. Scott Collection”: a donation of twenty-five works to the University of the West Indies in 1994, which is on view in its Main Library, and his collective donations to the National Gallery, a group of sixty-two works. Chief among these donations to the National Gallery was a presentation of thirty-eight works in 1990, accepted on behalf of the nation by then Prime Minister, the late Most Honourable Michael Manley.

Contributed by the Education Department

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US AT THE NGJ!

(Photo: Olivia McGilchrist)

The National Gallery of Jamaica is pleased to present Barrington: A Retrospective, an exhibition of more than 250 paintings, drawings and original prints by Jamaican master artist Professor the Hon. Barrington Watson, OJ. The exhibition is scheduled to open on January 8, 2012 and its main part will be on view at the National Gallery until April 14, with smaller annex exhibitions at the Bank of Jamaica and the Olympia International Art Centre, both in Kingston. The guest speaker at the January 8 opening function will be Sir Shridath Ramphal, GCMG, OCC, OE, OM, former Commonwealth Secretary-General and Chancellor of the University of the West Indies. The exhibition is the first on the NGJ’s calendar of events for Jamaica 50.

Self-Portrait, 1987, Collection: Michael Lee Chin

Born in Hanover, Jamaica, in 1931, Barrington Watson was educated at the Royal College of Art in London and attended several other major European art academies, including the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. He returned to Jamaica in 1961 and quickly rose to prominence as one of the most influential artistic figures in post-Independence Jamaica. Along with Eugene Hyde and Karl Parboosingh, he established the Contemporary Jamaican Artists’ Association (1964-1974) and he was the Director of Studies at the Jamaica School of Art, where he introduced the full-time diploma programme. He later also served as visiting professor at Spelman College in Atlanta. Essentially an academic realist, Barrington Watson has explored a wide range of themes and genres in his work, including history painting, genre, portraits and self-portraits, nudes, erotica, the landscape and the still life. He has also executed several major commissions, including the mural The Garden Party (1975) and the installation Trust (1975, with Cecil Baugh) at the Bank of Jamaica, the mural Our Heritage (1974) at Olympia in Kingston and various official portraits, including those of past Prime Ministers of Jamaica, of Martin Luther King (1970) at Spelman College, and of former Commonwealth Secretary-General and UWI Chancellor Sir Shridath Ramphal at the University of the West Indies – Mona (1992) and Marlborough House in London (1995).

Our Heritage, 1974, at Olympia

Barrington: A Retrospective will provide an in-depth overview of the main thematic and stylistic developments in the work of Barrington Watson and will feature well-known masterpieces from the National Gallery collection, such as Mother and Child, Washer Women, Athlete’s Nightmare, and Conversation, along with works borrowed from major private and corporate collections, several of which have never been exhibited before. The annex exhibition at the Bank of Jamaica will provide a context for The Garden Party, which is on permanent view there while the annex exhibition at Olympia is similarly organized around the mural Our Heritage and also features Barrington’s Pan-Africanists series.

Lori, 1974, Collection: The Hon. Maurice W. Facey & Mrs Valerie Facey

Barrington: A Retrospective is curated by the NGJ Chief Curator David Boxer and guest Curator Claudia Hucke, who is responsible for the annex exhibitions. The NGJ Executive Director Veerle Poupeye and the Education Department are curating the accompanying exhibition and Senior Curator Olivia McGilchrist is producing several short video documentaries on Barrington Watson’s work that will be included in the exhibitions.

This exhibition has been made possible by the generous sponsorship of Jamaica National Building Society, Scotia Private Client Group, Island Car Rentals, Mayberry Investments, Pan-Jamaican Investments, Stewarts Automotive Group, Wisynco, the Jamaica Pegasus, and the Gleaner (print media sponsorship).

Mother and Child, 1958-59, Collection: NGJ

The exhibition will be accompanied by a 192-page, colour-illustrated catalogue publication that documents all the works in the retrospective as well as a few other works by Barrington that could not be included and documentary photographs. It includes scholarly essays on various aspects of Barrington’s work by David Boxer, Claudia Hucke and Veerle Poupeye, and a biographical chronology by Tamara Scott-Williams. Tours of the main and annex exhibitions and visits to the Artist’s St Thomas estate, Orange Park, will also be organized. For more information about the exhibition, catalogue publication and tour arrangements please call 922-1561 & -3 or 618-0654; email info@natgalja.org.jm

The National Gallery of Jamaica in association with ARC Magazine and Caribbean InTransit is pleased to announce Offset: Art Publishing in the Caribbean, the joint launch of ARC Magazine Issue IV and the second issue of the new academic publication Caribbean InTransit. This event will take place at the National Gallery of Jamaica on Saturday, December 10, from 1:30 pm to 4pm.

To introduce the launch, the NGJ has developed a discussion panel that will focus on the opportunities and challenges involved in art journal publishing across the Anglophone Caribbean and its Diaspora. The panel includes the editor and co-founder of ARC Magazine, Holly Bynoe, Marielle Barrow, founder and director of Caribbean InTransit, Keino Senior and Carol “Annie” Hamilton, editors of the new Edna Manley College journal Jonkunnu, Kim Robinson, editor of Jamaica Journal and Annie Paul contributing editor of Small Axe; the panel will be moderated by Veerle Poupeye, executive director of the National Gallery of Jamaica.

The panel and launch, which will be followed by a reception, will be held at the National Gallery of Jamaica, which is located at 12 Ocean Blvd, Block C, Kingston (entrance on Orange Street). The event is free and open to the public.  Copies of ARC IV, Caribbean InTransit 2 and back issues of both publications will be available for purchase.

This event is sponsored, with kind support, by the National Gallery of Jamaica, George Mason University and the Ministry of Culture of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

UPDATE 21/12/2011: Video footage and sound-recording now available:

Sound cloud – Opening statements

Video of Q&A – part I:

Video of Q&A – part II

Event photos

Call for Artists

To coincide with the launch, ARC Magazine also announces an open call to all artists to submit works for review to be published in the publication. Works may be submitted on a MAC compatible CD/DVD. Please include: i. Biography ii. Artist Statement iii. 10 images in jpeg format @ 72dpi, no larger than 1000px on the longest side. Performance or new media artists send video links no longer than 5 minutes. iv. Image list: Please submit an image list with the CD/DVD ensure that the image list has your name, title of each piece, proper captions: date, medium and size of works.

Caribbean InTransit also announces a call for artworks for issues 3 and 4. Works submitted for issue 3 should speak of change and works for issue 4 should be new media works.  Works can be accompanied by critical reviews concerning the contextual positioning of the work (or body of work) and the artist.  Images should be 300dpi and must be accompanied by an Artist Statement and a biography of no more than 60 words. Performance or new media artists should send video links no longer than 5 minutes. Image list: Please submit an image list with the CD/DVD, ensure that the image list has your name, title of each piece, proper captions: date, medium and size of works.

We are now pleased to present video footage of the lecture:

Part 1

Part 2

Selected Questions