Bermuda Art Bermuda National Gallery

Bermuda National Gallery

The Bacardi Bienniel Exhibition 2008 at the Bermuda National Gallery

The Bermuda National Gallery and Bacardi Limited are proud to present the 2008 Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Bermuda Art.

The 8th Biennial, presented by Bacardi Limited in association with Royal Caribbean International, will run from April 25 to September 4 and features 86 works by 41 local artists, selected by an international jury from more than 250 submissions from 68 artists.

The Biennial comprises of work completed by Bermudian and resident artists between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007. The exhibition was open to all Bermudian artists on the Island or overseas as well as foreign nationals who were resident in Bermuda for at least six months during the competition period.

The distinguished international jurors for this year’s Biennial were Mark Krisco, Artist, Curator, and instructor, Art Institute of Chicago and Franklin Sirmans, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas. In a joint statement, they explained: “We have particularly focused on the artists that have not hesitated beyond comfortable boundaries; artists whose work has led them to a place outside comfortable boundaries – a place that may even seem “foreign” to them. It has been our experience that it is such artists who “go out on a limb” create art that comes from a place deeper within themselves. Far beyond competence and ego, it is a place that all viewers will relate to aesthetically and soulfully.”

In addition to new works by established artists such as Sharon R. Wilson, Charman prize winner Katherine Harriott, Will Collieson, Vaughan and Amy Evans, Dana Cooper, Caroline Troncossi, Edwin M. E. Smith and Jill Amos Raine, this year’s Biennial also features new talent such as Frank Chiappa, Miles Manders, Charles Godet Thomas, Kok Wan Lee and Susan Pearson, who are exhibiting in the Biennial for the first time.

BNG Director Laura Gorham said: “The Biennial is a subjective selection by experienced and knowledgeable international jurors who are not familiar with Bermuda’s artists. We believe this brings a fresh critical eye to Bermudian art that selects work based on its artistic merit and quality. We believe that by having the courage to submit to this process, local artists benefit enormously from the exposure, constructive criticism, prestige, and understanding of how their work is considered in an international context.”

Adam M. Goldstein, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, also a supporter of the Bienniel, commented: “Our annual cruise passenger surveys have vividly captured our clients’ appreciation of Bermuda's unique culture and arts. More recently, our cruise passengers have discovered the art treasures positioned as the Sculpture Gardens within the Par-La-Ville Park (a project between the Bermuda National Gallery and the Corporation of Hamilton). We are delighted to learn that more than fifty percent of the visitors to the Bermuda National Gallery are cruise passengers.”

This year’s Biennial is accompanied by a 100-plus page catalogue that, for the first time, illustrates all works in the exhibitions, truly providing a complete record of the Biennial and includes an essay by Bermudian scholar, Dr. Christina Storey. Another “first” for the Biennial is the production of a documentary film by Antoine Hunt in which BNG curator Sophie Cressall and Education Director Lisa Howie interview the artists; many in their studios, giving added context and understanding of the artists and the work being produced.

Bienniel Artists

• The Bermuda Collection in the Ondaatje Wing

Presented as an historical timeline, our permanent exhibition follows the artistic, historical and cultural development of Bermuda through its decorative and fine arts from 1624 to the present day. The Gallery’s Permanent Collection is complemented by significant private loans focusing on Bermuda’s early decorative arts of furniture and silverwork.

The Bermuda Collection is generously supported by Sir Christopher Ondaatje

See below for information regarding exhibition-related lectures and programmes and the BNG’s updated events calendar .

Theresa Airey American, b. 1942 Roman City, 2007 archival digital print 12 x 18 inches Collection of the artist
Fiona Rose Rodriguez-Roberts Bermudian, b. 1973 Self Portrait 1, 2007 mixed media 60 x 36 x 6 inches Collection of the artist
Vernon N. Clarke Jamaican/Bermudian, b.1949 Just the Two of Us, 2007 charcoal on paper 36 x 24 inches Collection of the artist
Charles Godet Thomas British/Bermudian, b. 1985 Beneath the Surface Cleaner, 2007 resin casts & reclaimed objects 9 x 4 x 2 inches x 3 Collection of the artist

Bacardi Limited Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Bermuda Art ~ April 4 - September 25, 2008

One of Bermuda’s most anticipated arts events – the Bacardi Limited Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Bermuda Art will open to the public at the Bermuda National Gallery on April 25 featuring 86 works from 41 local artists, chosen from an entry of more than 250 works from 68 artists.

The 8th Biennial, presented by Bacardi Limited in association with Royal Caribbean International will run from April 25 to September 4 and features work completed by Bermudian and resident artists between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007. The exhibition is open to all Bermudian artists on the Island or overseas as well as foreign nationals who have been resident in Bermuda for at least six months during the competition period.

BNG presented with rare Roger Tory Petersen original watercolour of Bermuda Cahows

The Bermuda National Gallery is honoured and delighted to announce that it has been presented with the gift of an original watercolour of Bermuda’s rare cahow bird by the renowned American naturalist and artist Roger Tory Peterson. The gift has been made by Helen B. Wilson of Bellevue, Washington and her late husband Dr. Howard E. Wilson in recognition of retired Bermuda Conservation Officer David Wingate and his conservation efforts on behalf of the cahow.

The painting is believed to have been completed in 1952 or 1953. In 1951, Mr. Wingate, then age 15, helped the world famous ornithologist and conservationist Robert Cushman Murphy and Bermudian naturalist Louis S. Mowbray re-discover the cahow, thought extinct since the 1620s. Mr. Wingate dedicated the rest of his life to saving the bird and went on to become the Conservation Officer for the Bermuda Government Parks Department from 1966 until his retirement in 2000. It is believed the painting, which was used as the frontispiece of Sea Birds by James Fisher and R.M. Lockley, published in 1954 may have been commissioned by Mr. Murphy. Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996), was a naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator, and considered one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement. He founded the Petersen Field Guide to Birds which now runs to 52 volumes.

The Wilsons, keen birders and naturalists, met Mr. Wingate during two trips to the Island in 1977 and were inspired by his plans for the “living museum” at Nonsuch Island. They were not fortunate to see any cahows then, but in 1984 Dr. Wilson saw an advertisement in a birding publication listing several paintings for sale, including cahows by Roger Tory Peterson. By coincidence, the seller, Alison Murphy Conner, turned out to be the daughter of the late Robert Cushman Murphy. Mr. Wingate says the painting was done from specimens in the American Museum of Natural History, which accounts for minor anatomical inaccuracies in Petersen’s depiction of the bird – such as not fully depicting its 35-inch wingspan, for example.

But he said: “It is wonderful to see this particular cahow ‘come home’. You have to remember that is only recently that you have been able to guarantee seeing a cahow in flight at sea during the daytime and have the photographic technology to capture it. I myself only saw one out on the ocean for the first time 12 years ago.”

BNG's Wednesday Lunchtime Series ~ 12.30 - 1.30

Lunchtime Lecture Series Sponsored by Community & Cultural Affairs
The series is free to members and we ask a $5 donation from non-members.

Wednesday, April 30 ~ Photography in Bermuda
Featured artists include: Scott Hill, Antoine Hunt, Alan Smith, Scott Stallard

Wednesday, May 7 ~ Contemporary Art Of The Caribbean: The Case for Jamaica
by Veerlee Poupeye, Ph.D. on Jamaican Art

Wednesday, May 14 ~ Feminism in Art
Moderator: Christina Storey, Ph.D. Featured artists include: Shelly Hamill, Kathy Harriott, Elizabeth Mulderig, Gail Santucci-Palacio, Susan Pearson, Fiona Rodriguez- Roberts

Wednesday, May 21 ~ Meanings in Contemporary Art
Moderator: Sophie Cressall, Curator.
Featured artists include: Will Collieson, Amy Evans, Vaughan Evans, Amanda Temple, Charles Zuill

Wednesday, May 28 ~ Confronting the Bermuda paradigm
Moderator: David Mitchell, former BNG Curator.
Featured artists: Dan DeSilva, Jill Amos Raine, Vernon Clarke, Edwin Smith, Charles Zuill

Wednesday, June 4 ~ Is art free in Bermuda?
Moderator: Emma Donouk, teaching artist.
Featured artists: Will Collieson, Dana Cooper, Louisa Flannery, John Gardner, Peter Lapsley

Wednesday, June 11 ~ Fresh faces in the 2008 Biennial
Moderator: Lisa Howie, Education Director.
Featured artists: Frank Chiappa, Al Donouk, Molly Godet, Kok Won Lee, Miles Manders

Wednesday, June 18 ~ Photographic Technique - Dreamscapes
Artist Theresa Airey discusses infrared photography in Bermuda

Wednesday, June 25 ~ Exploring Modern Art
FILM: Wassily Kandinsky (50 minutes)
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Russian painter, is generally regarded as an orginator of abstract painting and one of the most important innovators in modern art, both as an artist and as a theorist. Kandinsky’s unrelenting quest for new forms produced diverse works: abstract and figurative, romantic, colourful, and complex.

Wednesday, July 2 ~ Exploring Modern Art
FILM: René Magritte (51 minutes)
René Magritte (1898-1967) was the greatest painter of the Surrealist movement. Today, the paradoxical blend of beauty and menace in his imagery still has the power to unnerve the viewer. This film sets out to analyse why the paintings are so compelling, and how the events in his life influenced his work.

Wednesday, July 9 ~ Exploring Modern Art
FILM: Marcel Duchamp (50 minutes)
Born in France, Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968)– painter, sculptor, and author – was associated with Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism, though he avoided any strict alliances. Duchamp’s early works were Post-Impressionistic in style, though he eventually turned toward the avant-garde. Duchamp’s work is characterised by humour, a wide variety of media, and its incessant probing of the boundaries of art.

Special Thursday Art Sessions from 5.30-7.30pm

Thursday, May 8 ~ PartnerRe Art Lecture Series
The Journey of Jamaican Art: Art, Cultureal Institutions and Society
by Veerlee Poupeye, Ph.D.
5:30 reception for 6:00 pm lecture $25; members: $15

This lecture introduces modern and contemporary Jamaican art, placed in its social and institutional context, and in comparison with concurrent and comparable developments elsewhere in the Caribbean and the African Diaspora. Jamaica holds a unique position in the Anglophone Caribbean, with a national school that dates from the 1920s, a robust domestic art market which operates independent from the tourism market, and well-developed cultural institutions, such as the Institute of Jamaica, the National Gallery of Jamaica and the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, despite significant economic resource problems – an infrastructure which has served as a model and, at times, a cautionary tale in the rest of the region.

Thursday, May 22 ~ at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation, Jubilee Road, Devonshire
Art Forum
Local artists invited to Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation to meet and chat about the contemporary art scene
5.30-7.30 p.m.
All artists welcome. Refreshments served.

Thursday, July 3 ~ Special Panel Discussion
Can Art Change The World?
Featured artists include: John Gardner and Katherine Harriott.
5.30-7.30 p.m