Jamaica Biennial 2017 – Juried Artists: Leasho Johnson

Leasho Johnson – Inna di Middle (2017), instalaltion view – photo: Randy Richards

Leasho Johnson – Inna di Middle (2017), instalaltion view – photo: Randy Richards

Leasho Johnson – Inna di Middle (2017), digital study

From our Jamaica Biennial 2017 archives:

Leasho Johnson was born in St James, Jamaica, in 1984. He attended the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, where he obtained a BFA in Visual Communication in 2009. He is a founding member of the Dirty Crayons collective, which held local group exhibitions in 2012 and 2013. Johnson’s other exhibitions include Young Talent V (2010, National Gallery of Jamaica); Jamaican Pulse: Art and Politics from Jamaica and the Diaspora (2016, Bristol, United Kingdom); and the National Gallery of Jamaica’s Biennials since 2010. He has also participated in a number of artist residencies. In 2016, he participated in an artists’ residency at Bluecoat, a contemporary arts centre in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and he was awarded a residency at Residency Unlimited in New York City by the Davidoff Art Initiative. Johnson works in various media to explore the tensions and contestations in Jamaican culture and society, particularly in dancehall and its associated tropes. Leasho Johnson resides in Kingston, Jamaica. His contribution to the Jamaica Biennial 2017 was shown at Devon House.

Website: leasho.com

Jamaica Biennial 2017 – Juried Artists: Derval Johnson

Derval Johnson – Dinosaur: 2 Bald Pates (2016)

From our Jamaica Biennial 2017 archives:

Derval Johnson was born in St Thomas, Jamaica in 1985. He is a self-taught artist previously associated with Roktowa in Downtown Kingston. There, he developed craft pieces in wood and alabaster for commercial enterprise. Representing the continuity of Jamaican folk art in the twenty-first century, his work was featured in the Jamaica Biennial 2014. Johnson lives in Kingston, Jamaica.

Derval Johnson – Dinosaur Bird (2016)

Jamaica Biennial 2017 – Juried Artists: Andy Jefferson

Andy Jefferson – When Sugar Was King; Plantation Days (2016, 1 panel of diptych)

Another from our Jamaica Biennial 2017 archives:

Andy Jefferson was born in 1959, Ipswich, United Kingdom. He studied at the Plymouth College of Art and completed his BA in Fine Art Printmaking at the Exeter College of Art and Design in 1981. He has been active on the Jamaican art scene since 1984. Notable solo exhibitions have included 25 Years in Jamaica at the Pegasus Gallery (2007) and The Journey Continues at the Bolivar Gallery (2006), both in Kingston, and he has participated in National Gallery of Jamaica exhibitions such as Curator’s Eye III, Ceremony in Space and Sound (2008) and the National Biennial. Among other achievements, he has been awarded gold, silver and bronze medals for his entries in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC)’s National Visual Arts Exhibition and Competition. Jefferson is well-known as one of Jamaica’s principal printmakers. In recent times, he has extended his creative practice to include painting and sculpture. He is based in St Andrew, Jamaica.

Andy Jefferson – When Sugar Was King; Plantation Days (2016, 1 panel of diptych)

 

Jamaica Biennial 2017 – Juried Artists: Christopher Irons

Christopher Irons – Back Road (2016)

Another feature from our Jamaica Biennial 2017 archives:

Christopher Irons was born in 1973, in Portland, Jamaica, and is a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. His works are predominately satirical commentaries on current social and political events in Jamaica manifested through assemblages consisting mainly of found objects. Irons has exhibited regularly in Jamaica as well as in Trinidad and Nigeria. In 2016, his work was featured in Jamaican Pulse: Art and Politics from Jamaica and the Diaspora exhibition, also held in 2016 at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, United Kingdom. He has been the recipient of the Commonwealth Fellowship and the Under 40 Artist of the Year Award in 2003. Irons is based in Buff Bay, Portland, Jamaica.

Christopher Irons – Back Road (2016)

Jamaica Biennial 2017 – Juried Artists: Shediene Fletcher

While we work on our next exhibition, the Annabella and Peter Proudlock Collection, which opens on July 30, here is another short feature from our Jamaica Biennial 2017 archives.

Shediene Fletcher was born in 1981, in Manchester, Jamaica. She attended the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts where she obtained a BFA in Painting (2011). Primarily a mixed media artist, she has become known for her use of animal hides and bones in her assemblages. Her work was featured in the Curator’s Selection (2009 and 2010) exhibitions at the CAG[e] Gallery at the Edna Manley College and the 2012 National Biennial and Jamaica Biennial 2014 at the National Gallery of Jamaica. Fletcher lives in Manchester, Jamaica.

Jamaica Biennial 2017 – Juried Artists: Rachel Henriques

Rachel Henriques – Poppy Show (2016)

Rachel Henriques was a first time exhibitor at the National Gallery of Jamaica in the Jamaica Biennial 2017. She was born in 1970, Kingston, Jamaica. She holds a BFA in Painting/Printmaking from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, graduating Cum Laude in 1991. She has participated in several exhibitions overseas, more recently in the 7th All Media Juried Biennial, Hollywood, Florida (2015). Her screen prints and lithographs juxtapose photo-based images and graphic elements, to explore subjects associated with Jamaican social history, popular culture and post-colonialism. Henriques is currently based in Florida, USA.

Website: rachelhenriques.com

Rachel Henriques – The Kindness of Strangers (2016)