Detail of a work by Patrick Villaire at his studio (photo: Veerle Poupeye) This post was first published in the Jamaica Monitor of February 6, 2022. It is now reproduced here with a few updates and corrections. The occasion for my trip to Haiti, which ended on February 4, was my role in the Caribbean... Continue Reading →
Bewigged – Greg Bailey’s Post-colonial Paraphernalia
Greg Bailey - Lady Locks (2021) I am privileged to have been invited to curate the debut solo exhibition of the Jamaican artist Greg Bailey is entitled Post-Colonial Paraphernalia. The exhibition explores the lingering effects of colonial symbols and and features ten new oil paintings and one drawing. The exhibition is on view at Creativ... Continue Reading →
Memoirs: William “Woody” Joseph (1919-1998)
This article was first published in the Jamaica Monitor of October 3, 2021. William “Woody” Joseph – Angel, c1990, private collection (photo: Veerle Poupeye) When I first met the self-taught Jamaican wood-sculptor William Joseph in the mid-1980s, he was living in a bamboo shack near the river in Stony Hill. Woody, as he was affectionately... Continue Reading →
Philip Wickstead – Portrait of Benjamin and Mary Pusey (c1775)
Philip Wickstead – Portrait of Benjamin and Mary Pusey, c1775, National Gallery of Jamaica (photo: Veerle Poupeye) An earlier version of this article was published in the Jamaica Monitor of September 5, 2021 This week, I start a new series in which I explore and contextualize famous and less well-known works of Jamaican art. The... Continue Reading →
Memoirs: Everald Brown (1917-2002)
Everald Brown at the Assembly of the Living, 82 1/2 Spanish Town Road, West Kingston, c1974 (photographer unknown) This article was originally published in two parts in the Jamaica Monitor August 1 and 8, 2021, respectively. It is now posted here with minor editorial changes. Part 1 Everald Brown – or Brother Brown, as his... Continue Reading →
Painting the City
Shanique Stewart - Jamaica Is Not a Real Place, Water Lane. Sponsored by TEF and Sherwin Williams. This article was originally published in the Jamaica Monitor on 4 and 11, 2021 and is now posted as it was submitted, with images added. All photos are by Stuart Reeves, courtesy of Doris Gross, Kingston Creative. Part I... Continue Reading →