In a blitz of color, a
year-long development will blossom at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas
(NAGB) this month. On Saturday, October 24, the NAGB will celebrate the opening
of R. Brent Malone: Reincarnation – a retrospective exhibition featuring more
than 200 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptural pieces by legendary
Bahamian artist Brent Malone.
The show is curated by
Dr. Erica James, former NAGB director and current assistant professor in Yale
University’s department of art history and African American studies. It will
tell the story of an art evolution alongside the ebbs and flows Malone
experienced over the course of his career.
Pieces in the exhibition
have been sourced from collections throughout The Bahamas and overseas. The
earliest work is one that was completed when Malone was just a 13-year-old boy,
in 1954.
Known for being one of
the first serious Bahamian artists to paint Junkanoo, Malone emerged out of the
famed Chelsea Pottery era and helped to transform the landscape of artistic
production in The Bahamas during his lifetime. As one of the country’s first
successful art businesspersons, his memory and legacy live on through his works
and mentees.
“We’re getting a
lot of works from private homes that went into those homes when they were sold
in the 70s and 80s that haven’t been seen in 20 or 30 years,” said NAGB
Director Amanda Coulson. “Dr. James has done intensive research and we’re
repatriating Bahamian art that will be on display for the Bahamian public, so
I’m excited about that too. I think Brent Malone holds a really crucial place
in the history of Bahamian art. We’ll be able to see what he did and how he was
so instrumental in the blossoming of our art scene.”
The extensive
exhibition will occupy all of the gallery’s spaces, including the permanent
exhibition level. For James, who researched far and wide to contact private
collectors, the show tells a story of a multidimensional Bahamian history.
Upholding her understanding of Bahamian culture as one that is complex, James
believes Malone conveyed this through his works as well.
“This show has
been partly a labor of love and partly because I believe in Bahamian art
history and a need to tell these stories. I think it’s time for Bahamians to
really understand the depth and complexity of their own history,” she said.
R. Brent Malone:
Reincarnation opens at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 24. The show will be on
display until April 2016. The public is invited to the opening ceremony and
reminded that the NAGB is free for locals every Sunday. Gallery hours are 10
a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
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