exhibitionS
Alternative Voices: A Perspective on Contemporary Art from the Azores, June 7 - October 7, 2024
In this exhibition at the National Museum of Bermuda, Azorean artists Susana Aleixo Lopes, Leonor Almeida Pereira and Filipe Franco incorporate traces of the land and sea, elements of the earth, and complex feelings of nostalgia and rebirth into their visual compositions and sculptures. Their work offers insight into the vibrant contemporary artistic culture of the Azores and provides a fresh opportunity to (re)consider the cultural ties between Azores and Bermuda and our shared Atlantic identity.
The migration of individuals and families from Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde and Portugal to Bermuda that began 175 years ago has woven a fabric of interconnected histories and cultural exchanges. This exhibit honours these connections and builds on this legacy.
Watch the video of the opening reception by Qian Dickinson.
Guest curated by Leonor Almeida Pereira & Lisa Howie
FOUNDATIONS, an online art fair produced by Artsy, January 23 - February 14, 2024
By invitation, Black Pony Gallery will participate in FOUNDATIONS, an online art fair produced by Artsy —the largest online gallery platform—from January 23 to February 14, 2024. Featured artists include James Cooper, Teresa Kirby Smith, ABWilson and Charles Zuill (Bermuda) and John Reno Jackson (Cayman).
the gallery opens first outpost at CAMBRIDGE BEACHES HOTEL, bermuda, April 2023
The gallery’s first selling exhibition in the hotel’s reception area features original paintings and limited-edition prints by Bermudian artists Meredith Andrews, James Cooper, Graham Foster, Teresa Kirby Smith, ABWilson, Charles Zuill, and Caymanian, Nasaria Chollette, and Cuban, Osmeivy Ortega. The Gallery is free of charge and open to the public during regular hotel hours.
BPG@Atlantic World Art Fair 2023
Black Pony Gallery is proud to lead and participate again in the Atlantic World Art Fair, featuring 28 artworks by seven artists from five islands, all speaking to elements of identity and states of being using various materials and methods. A provocative group of works.
Niels Reyes: The Bull by the Horns | September 8 - 29, 2023
Here we witness Niels Reyes in evolution, addressing the individual vs the regime of Cuba: “The resolution in the act of the protagonist of ‘The bull by the horns’ epitomizes that spirit of change latent in the new artistic productions of Niels,” curator Arianna Covas.
Leonor Almeida Pereira: Vulcões com Pássaros Dentro | Volcanoes with Birds Inside
November 25 – December 19, 2022
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to announce the second online solo exhibition by Portuguese artist Leonor Almeida Pereira: Vulcões com Pássaros Dentro | Volcanoes with Birds Inside. The exhibition features nine original mixed-media artworks on paper.
Residing on the island of São Miguel in the Azorean archipelago, the artist says her “visual compositions are inspired by the sounds that inhabit the imagination when recalling the atmosphere of special places.” Many of the titles in the exhibition carry the name of local birds although we cannot see them, except for in our imagination.
“Activated by the landscapes of the Azores as they mirror the volcanic nature of its origins, these memories have an earthly dimension that evades the attempt of representation,” says Almeida Pereira. Her artwork is inspired by the environment, by memories, and imagination, not accurate depictions of the islands.
This series of artwork is a continuation of the artist’s “need to soft-sculpture an idea”. Made of fragments of different papers and fabrics previously painted in a random way, the artist explores nuances of colour that produce undefined shapes. She tears parts from these materials, finding relevant visual information that she re-assembles to seize the memory of a place. As a result, the created landscapes become dimensional, hovering over the paper like a fleeting memory or idea.
Her process is rooted in keen observation while allowing creative expression to find its own way. She says, “I take my time looking, playing with my perception of what things are… usually a small and often irrelevant detail and if it promises me something, I help it deliver and confirm the potential I felt it had. Things can be very generous in allowing you to discover them.” For this artwork series, close looking is as much a key component of the artist’s process as the collector’s task. Enjoy!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Leonor Almeida Pereira has a degree in Fine Arts – Painting, from the University of Évora, Portugal, and Master and Doctorate degrees in Fine Arts, specializing in contemporary art studies, from the University of Vigo, Spain. In 2018 she opened Oficina in Ponta Delgada, an art gallery and studio, where she creates her artwork and promotes the work of other artists, local and foreign.
Osmeivy Ortega: Other Minds
October 7 – 24, 2022
Black Pony Gallery is excited to announce that award-winning Cuban expert engraver Osmeivy Ortega has joined the gallery’s talent list. The artist presents a series of intricate woodblock and linocut prints in his first solo online exhibition entitled Osmeivy Ortega: Other Minds.
The exhibition runs from October 7 - 24, 2022.
Other Minds echoes the title of one specific artwork in which an octopus, suspended in space with active tentacles, is rendered with a human brain. Realistically presented with its impossible, brilliant brain on display, the artwork captures the spirit of the exhibition. We can expect beautifully rendered animals with surrealistic qualities, each developing its own story or social commentary.
Lisa Howie, Founding Director, Black Pony Gallery: “Osmeivy Ortega’s work baffles me: The complexity of the woodblock or linocut and the precision in his hand printing method. I’m a fan of Hitchcock and surrealism, so these wild pairings of animals, botany, and objects—birds, roses, and barbed wire— simulates my imagination. Each work is rich in metaphor with layers of meaning and dreaming.”
Academic Gabriela Azcuy says of Ortega’s portfolio: “Animals and plants function as interlocutors to question issues related to society, the individual, and his development in today’s world. There is an environmental interest but above all his creations are an existentialist song towards humanity.” Each work is handprinted on acid-free Japanese paper following the tradition of engraving that Osmeivy Ortega has expertise.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Havana, Cuba, Osmeivy Ortega graduated from the NaAonal Academy of Fine Arts San Alejandro (2003) in the specialty of Engraving, The Royal InsAtute of Art (Kungliga Konsthögskolan) Stockholm, Sweden (2009), and the Higher InsAtute of Art, ISA (2005). He has been awarded many internaAonal arAsAc residences, including Documenta, Kassel, Germany. He is a member of the Union of ArAsts and Writers of Cuba and of the Experimental Graphic Workshop of Havana, and Professor in the Engraving Specialty from 2003 to 2015 at the San Alejandro Academy and ISA. He has had solo exhibiAons in Cuba, New Zealand and the United States and has parAcipated in more than 100 group shows. His works are in public collecAons belonging to the Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets; AMBA CollecAon, Paris; Rockefeller FoundaAon, New York; and his work can be found in private collecAons in Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Portugal, Turkey, the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Niels Reyes: A Return to Nowhere
September 16 – 30, 2022
Black Pony Gallery is collaborating with Maxima Gallery in Havana, Cuba to feature artist Niels Reyes.
For the first time, each gallery will simultaneously present his solo exhibition, which features 13 original works and opens concurrently in Havana, Cuba and online on Black Pony Gallery’s portal on Artsy.
The exhibition runs from September 16 – 30, 2022.
Black Pony Gallery Director Lisa Howie said, “By working together, we present a unique contemporary art gallery experience for the art collectors and supporters who reside in or are visiting Havana, and for the global audience – from anyplace world – to access this experience online. Niels has a significant following in Havana, but he has not had a solo exhibition in Havana for several years. He has had two online exhibitions with Black Pony, ‘The Essence of Youth’ in 2020 and ‘Faces’ in 2021. Now he can do both: meet his audience in person and broadcast his exhibition to the 4.5 million followers of Artsy.”
The spokesperson said, “In this exhibition, A Return to Nowhere, the artist continues to present imagined faces that provoke us, that look us directly in the eye. Who are these people? Where do they come from? Where are they going? What is their story? Often there is no setting in the painting nor a title to help us develop context clues. As much as the painter has imagined these faces, so too the audience must imagine their identity.”
Academic Teresa Toranzo Castillo said, “His characters have the gift of omnipresence; they come from their environment and from everywhere at the same time and each one of them is based on a profound thought about the present, such as migrations, movements of departure and return, of human displacement throughout the geography. The technical mastery, his sense of matter and the universality of his poetry certify him as an invaluable narrator of history, sociology, and the political framework of his time."
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Santa Clara, Cuba, Niels Reyes is a talented artist who graduated from painting at the Higher Institute of Art (ASI) in 2006. His paintings are powerful, which may be why he has had over ten solo exhibitions in Cuba, Spain, Switzerland, and Panama. In group exhibitions he has been showcased in Cuba, Denmark, France, USA, Spain, Mexico, China, Finland, Canada, Panama, Austria, Germany, England. Reyes holds the Grand Prize of the first post-it contemporary art competition, 2013. He has been a resident artist in the Ministry of Culture Austria, 2012 and China, 2018. Reyes lives in Havana.
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to introduce Guyana born, Turks & Caicos based artist HezronH. In his first online solo exhibition with the gallery, he explores the perceived or unperceived divinity in his portraits, each bathed in saturated colors. HezronH: The Quest for Divinity runs August 12-29, 2022. He is also available for commissions.
HezronH: The Quest for Divinity runs August 12-29, 2022. He is also available for commissions.
HezronH explains his inspiration: “We are all blended with a swath of experiences; walking, breathing, and thinking creatures full of insight and emotions expelled through every single pore. Our aura illuminates spaces of darkness and drives ideas through vision, endowing minds with fragments of personality shimmering through a kaleidoscope of color.”
The portfolio of HezronH consists of acrylic on paper, canvas, and digital painting, adapting both traditional and modern painting mediums to his signature style. His art is laden with vibrant colors that echo the Fauvist palette of purple and greens.
Drawing inspiration from collecting comics as a youth to his everyday adult interactions, he bridges youthful vibrancy and is a self-described rule breaker. His quest is an individual’s search for belonging in a region that is under-represented on the art world stage.
Of the Deus series, he says: “These artworks challenge the western depiction of the archetypical medieval and renaissance protagonist. My portraits depict BIPOC (black, indigenous or person of color) protagonists, each offering commentary on their place in the wider narrative of modern social/class structure while questioning their relationship with the divine.”
With titles dei gratia- by the grace of God- and opus dei – the work of God, the artist “seeks to open a conversation about why or how people of color can be viewed as intrinsically divine instruments.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
HezronH has exhibited in cities across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Trinidad & Tobago at CARIFESTA, Portland (USA), and at Art Takes 2021 (NYC), a juried competition hosted by SeeMe. HezronH has been featured in several publications, such as Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Wacom’s “The Next Level” and Turks and Caicos Magazine. @hezron_1
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to present Island Rock Fever, a new series of digital photographs by Bermudian artist Meredith Andrews. This series of ‘islandscapes’ explores the artist's physical connection with Bermuda’s botanical, terrestrial and marine surroundings. This online solo exhibition features nine original provocative artworks.
The exhibition runs from December 22, 2021 – January 17, 2022.
Andrews says about the series: “Island Rock Fever is an expression of my Bermuda experience before and during the global pandemic. This series of ‘islandscapes’ explores a fundamental physical connection with Bermuda’s botanical, terrestrial and marine surroundings. The Island’s elements are beautiful yet raw, large yet small and one often simultaneously feels isolated and exposed in the sub-tropical surroundings.”
The titles to her images, ‘Ambushed’, ‘Obscure’, ‘Absorption’, for example, echo the visual imagery of female subjects presented in unusual positions within distinct environments. Andrews comments further on the influence of the current context: “The restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic intensified feelings of remoteness which I often express as obscurement, concealment, or assimilation. The island and the individual become one, protecting and combating at the same time. Being detached on a remote island for an extended period introduced a surreal element to the works, a representation of my mindset over the past two years. Under the custody of the island, something much larger than myself, I was grounded, liberated, and frustrated.”
Many of us have not traveled as we did in the past and as a result, our local environment takes on a new dimension, which the artist presents in a fresh manner. “This series of work was shot in different locations throughout Bermuda utilizing multiple exposures, mirrors, and crystals to distort the images and their meaning,” says Andrews. Island Rock Fever is a strong contrast to the sculptural assemblages of found plastics featured in Flotsam and Jetsam: The Cost of Modern Living, now on exhibition at Bermuda National Gallery. What we can see in both solo exhibitions is that Andrews is a talented photographer with a refined eye and sense of design. She creates images that are beautiful, intriguing and inspire conversation. Enjoy!”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Meredith Andrews is a Bermudian photographer and artist who has been creating professional work for almost 20 years. Following the completion of her MA from Goldsmith’s College, London, she focused her attention on telling untold stories of everyday people and examining the culture and society surrounding her. She exhibits regularly including group shows at The Photographer’s Gallery (London), The International Center of Photography (New York), Bermuda Biennials at Bermuda National Gallery and both the 2008 & 2018 Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize housed at London’s National Portrait Gallery. Her work has been featured in print media including her own title Who is Anna Andersson? Portraits of Sweden’s Most Popular Name. In recent years, she has turned her attention to sculptural and photographic works made from recovered ocean plastic.
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to present Memory & Mark-making, a new series of metalpoint drawings by local artist Charles Zuill. This online solo exhibition presents 14 original artworks that demonstrate the use of silver, gold, copper and brass to draw.
The exhibition runs November 29 – December 15, 2021.
Former Bermuda College art lecturer, Zuill continues on his path of experimentation. Here we dive into a well-crafted series that the artist has worked on for the entire year, using the ancient drawing technique of metalpoint.
He says of the process, “Although I have long wanted to explore the use of metals as a drawing media, it was only during the recent Covid lockdown that I seriously undertook such an investigation. To prepare, I read what is said to be the essential technical manual on the technique, namely Silverpoint and Metalpoint Drawing, A Complete Guide To The Medium, by Susan Schwalb and Tom Mazzullo.”
Zuill explains further: “Metalpoint has come and gone in fashion over the centuries, but recently it has gained renewed popularity. It is now possible to purchase fairly exotic and precious materials such as gold and platinum metalpoints as well as treated papers of varying colors. Although the materials are expensive, the durability is worth the investment.”
Similar to the works Zuill presented in the inaugural edition of the Atlantic World Art Fair in June, this series has been inspired by childhood memories and impressions from literature, especially mythology. The artist also makes reference to “imagery from the Apocalypse and other Biblical references, aspects of Bermudian architecture, and themes suggested through travel.”
The process of metalpoint drawing is patient work. Zuill says, "Because of the hardness of this media, it does not lend itself to such gestural ease as is found with softer materials such as with brush and ink or soft graphite. The artworks evolve slowly, sometimes by trial and error, until eventually the composition comes together into a cohesive whole.”
These quiet, intriguing works encourage close-looking and perhaps a dram of science fiction. Enjoy!
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to present 'Faces', a new group of oil paintings by talented Cuban artist Niels Reyes. This exhibition demonstrates the artist’s ongoing ability to bring his portraits to life with rich paint application and energized strokes. The faces emerge from the canvas, seductive, sensual, compelling, and often with surreal qualities that mesmerize. Intimate and inviting.
This online solo exhibition presents ten original works and runs October 29 – November 15, 2021.
“When we face a face, we are before the frontier of the Self, before the most sophisticated interface that can exist; the most authentic expression of the human. I don't think I can find a more powerful subject to represent,” says Reyes.
Cuban Curator Rigoberto Otaño explains that the artist “attempts to uncover the whole of an individual by using factors that transgress photorealistic conventions…. What an academic would classify as imperfections, for him are successes, indisputable reflections of the personality and culture of a subject.” Also indisputable is that the genre of portraiture is enriched with the practice of Niels Reyes. Each figure confronts the viewer and inspires close looking. At a time when masks cover portions of our face, portions of our identity, these painted faces have an intimacy that is refreshing and inviting.
Cuban Curator Rigoberto Otaño explains that the artist “attempts to uncover the whole of an individual by using factors that transgress photorealistic conventions…. What an academic would classify as imperfections, for him are successes, indisputable reflections of the personality and culture of a subject.” Also indisputable is that the genre of portraiture is enriched with the practice of Niels Reyes. Each figure confronts the viewer and inspires close looking. At a time when masks cover portions of our face, portions of our identity, these painted faces have an intimacy that is refreshing and inviting.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Santa Clara, Cuba, Niels Reyes is a talented artist who graduated from painting at the Higher Institute of Art (ASI) in 2006. His paintings are powerful, which may be why he has had over ten solo exhibitions in Cuba, Spain, Switzerland, and Panama. In group exhibitions he has been showcased in Cuba, Denmark, France, USA, Spain, Mexico, China, Finland, Canada, Panama, Austria, Germany, England. Reyes holds the Grand Prize of the first post-it contemporary art competition, 2013. He has been a resident artist in the Ministry of Culture Austria, 2012 and China, 2018. Reyes lives in Havana.
Black Pony Gallery at Atlantic World Art Fair 2021
May 31 – June 21, 2021
Black Pony Gallery is delighted to partner with Artsy and lead the Atlantic World Art Fair.
Title Sponsor: Butterfield
The Atlantic World Art Fair presents a dynamic, under-represented region of innovation, featuring nine galleries and curatorial agencies with decades of investment in artistic talents and practice. Exclusively on Artsy, discover the talents of contemporary Caribbean and mid-Atlantic artists whose creative expressions reflect intertwined histories, relations and cultures informed by peoples of Africa, the Americas and Europe.
“We’re thrilled to spotlight works from some of the most talented contemporary art makers in the Caribbean, the Atlantic Islands and the region’s wider diasporas,” said Dustyn Kim, Chief Revenue Officer at Artsy. “Through this partnership, we’re able to elevate the conversation around these artists and the art market in that region, as well as offer them the opportunity to engage with our global audience of over 2 million collectors and art lovers.”
Fair founder, Lisa Howie states: “The Atlantic World Art Fair intends to generate awareness of the contemporary artists in the mid-Atlantic region, stimulate capital, and galvanize the collective efforts of the exhibitors.”
“The Atlantic Art World Art Fair comes out of a shared vision: the collective work of art professionals dedicated to the cultural capital of mid-Atlantic Islands and the wider Atlantic World region. As a small but potent collection of galleries, each has contributed so much in various ways. Together, on the Artsy platform, we collectivize the artistic talents that propel us forward: to elevate the visual arts within our community and to the wider world. This online art fair experience flags the Atlantic World as an exciting new art market to discover.”
“Importantly, this online fair transcends barriers of travel and cultural access that are today exacerbated by the global pandemic. Our Island artistic ecosystems are fragile and so this engagement with the global art market will generate critically necessary cultural capital.”
The Atlantic Art World Art Fair inaugural iteration presents nine exhibitors, all women, featuring over 50 contemporary visual artists from the mid-Atlantic region.
• Black Pony Gallery (Lisa Howie/ Bermuda)
• Sour Grass (Holly Bynoe, Annalee Davis/ Barbados)Suzie Wong Presents (Susanne Fredricks/ Jamaica)
• TERN Gallery (Amanda Coulson, Lauren Holowesko, Jodi Minnis/ Bahamas)
• ReadyTex Art Gallery (Monique NouhChaia SookdewSing/ Suriname)
• Olympia Gallery (Rosemary Thwaites, Jessica Jones/ Jamaica)
• Gallery Alma Blou (Lusette Verboom/ Curacao)
• Frame Center (Charmaine McIntosh, Dominique McIntosh/ Jamaica) • Gallery Monnin (Gael Monnin/ Haiti)
Artists in the Atlantic World Art Fair are nationals of, or reside in, Aruba, Azores, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, US Virgin Islands, and their diasporas.
Collectors will be presented with over 250 top-tier selections of paintings, prints, photographs, textiles and sculpture, with prices across a range of access points. Collectors will be provided artist biographies, editorial commentary, and a parallel online program (such as art talks, panel discussions and studio visits) to develop cultural understanding of and appreciation for the region. The collector will make payment directly to each exhibitor and assume the shipping and handling costs of the artwork.
With the global context making travel to the mid-Atlantic region more challenging than ever, the Atlantic World Art Fair gives collectors a chance to experience the presented contemporary artwork from the comfort of their home.
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For more information on the Atlantic World Art Fair, please contact Lisa Howie: [email protected]
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to announce the inclusion of Cuban artist Aimée Garcia and her first online solo exhibition.
Aimée García: The Game of Ambiguities presents a series of original mixed media paintings that use the genre of portraiture — often using herself as a subject— to explore psychological tensions and uncertainties. While distinctly feminine, Garcia’s works also convey themes that many will relate to, especially in today’s context.
The online exhibition runs February 5- March 1, 2021.
The artist says of her work, “I seek to establish a game with the meaning of the materials and the objects…” This game, this push and pull between the painted surface and the interwoven materials, creates a strong communication emphasized by the title of each work. Repression #8, from 2019, has many layers of understanding, depending on one’s point of view. Maybe we feel for the figure, maybe we are the figure, maybe we have a different role altogether. Whatever the case may be, many viewers will identify.
The artist is dedicated to “the universal feminine experience” and yet these images convey broader themes. Herein lies the game again. “The work is an invitation to reflect on life, history, gender contradictions, memories, and the political and social environment…,” says Garcia. The artwork is therefore both feminine and universal.
“I believe that the individual is in constant search of a change, liberation, emancipation, but external and psychological factors prevent achieving that total emancipation, that is why that search becomes a constant, where sometimes we feel more trapped and, in others, we believe we have achieved some liberation,” Aimée Garcia.
It is difficult to devoid oneself from the global context of 2021 when observing Garcia’s work. The pandemic presents a layer of confinement that has woven itself surreptitiously into all of our lives, and somehow into these paintings. Can we find a way out of this? Is there an ideal place we can hope for?
In this series of intimate portraits, Brown continues her exploration of the human psyche, focusing on one’s Saboteur – an inner voice that can make us question ourselves and inflict disruption and chaos. These images are compelling: hauntingly beautiful, feminine and vulnerable.
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to announce the first online solo exhibition for Dede Brown from The Bahamas.
Featuring original mixed media paintings, the exhibition Inner Voices runs December 18, 2020 — January 11, 2021.
True to the realm of Surrealism, where the subconscious and supernatural are given full reign, the works may speak to our shared silent suffering or, for others, evoke the current context, which is full of uncertainty. Yet as Brown confronts the subconscious by giving it a physical embodiment-- one that appears dark and ominous – a closer look at the details will reveal an underlying beauty filled with lightness, femininity, and vulnerability.
Dede Brown was born in Freeport, Grand Bahama and grew up in Nassau. She studied at The Savannah College of Art & Design and has a BFA in Interior Design, with a minor in Photography. For the past ten years she has practiced as a freelance artist and photographer. Brown has permanent sculptures in the Nassau Airport and at BahaMar Resort, and she has participated in several group exhibitions in Nassau and in two international residencies. Brown currently resides in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, where she works from a home-based studio. Her work is very often figurative with a strong focus on female and androgynous forms.
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Continue reading for an exclusive Q & A between the artist and curator Lisa Howie:
LH: Please discuss the narrative qualities of your work, notably the Saboteur motif… Is this responsive to the global context or more of a specific personal experience?
DB: The concept of the Saboteur is definitely something I have been exploring on a personal level for some time now, but it was brought into clearer focus after spending much more time in isolation due to the current circumstances of the global pandemic. I am quite curious about how this concept manifests in our minds, the role it can take on in our daily lives, activities, relationships and ultimately how it affects and influences the decisions we make. In many ways I have perceived this concept as dark, ominous and unapproachable so I thought, what better way to confront it than by giving it a face or some sort of physical embodiment. As I have moved through this series it has revealed many more layers - some are soft, some fragile and vulnerable. I am now contemplating that perhaps the saboteur is not only an interfering menace but at times a guardian, trying to convey warnings and even protect us.
LH: That’s interesting—the angel in disguise. Your portraits are bold and, in some instances, include natural forms. In what ways is island living embedded in your practice?
DB: As a creative person I think one’s environment is something that always impacts your work, whether negative or positive. We are stimulated by and respond so much to what is around us. I am lucky to live in a very soothing, serene and beautiful place and I gain a lot of inspiration from the colors, light and textures that surround me. The more I engage with my environment, the more evident the intricate details become. I love focusing on the details and working with mixed media allows me so many opportunities to play and constantly bring new aspects of my environment into the work. The more I practice this, the more I realize how much it sets a tone and background for my narratives.
LH: Narratives—exactly— and in this exhibition each portrait is the lead character in a psychological drama. Surrealism rocked my world on my art journey. Do you share that enthusiasm? Have you been inspired by the elements of, or the players in Surrealism?
DB: I do share your enthusiasm towards Surrealism and am fascinated by the use of narrative and symbolism. I am particularly intrigued by the life story and works of Frida Kahlo. She unveiled so much emotion in her paintings, surrounding what she was experiencing in her life at the time. I think we have been conditioned by societies to bury our emotions, especially if they are negative, so naturally art becomes another outlet forthem.
Jaume Plensa has also been a big inspiration to me. I love how diverse his works are in terms of scale and medium and how, despite their immense size, he is able to capture the human spirit in such an intimate and ephemeral way. I have a great interest and curiousness about the human condition and attempt to capture these qualities in my works as well.
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to announce new photographs by local artist AB Wilson. In this second online solo exhibition, the self-taught artist presents a series of 14 works created post- Shelter in Place in Bermuda. The exhibition, entitled ABWilson: Textures, runs October 23 – November 13, 2020.
Many of us can relate to the experience of seeing our lives afresh once allowed outside and into public areas.
Wilson says about the current context: “The pandemic has changed my photography. It has made me appreciate more the time spent with loved ones, the beauty around me, and the importance of touch. Spending so much time at home during the early days of the pandemic allowed me to look at everyday items closely. To examine, lines, shapes, shadows, textures. I wanted to delve deeper into the details of images.”
Thanks to Wilson’s style of close-looking, we can experience minute details that have been given an expansive quality, creating immersive images that evoke new relationships with colour, space and time.
“Once we came out of Shelter in Place,” says Wilson, “I set out to find textures that could be defined through my lens. My goal is to help the viewer look beyond the surface and give in to the impulse to touch, to feel, to become a part of the image as they experience it.”
The photographs in the exhibition are listed with sizes and prices, however the artist is open to altering the scale to suit the purchaser.
In this series of mixed media works, David Bridgeman continues his journey in abstraction. Using whatever materials are at hand, he allows the work to have its own life force; unplanned, without sketches, intuitive expressions, that find their way into our imaginations.
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to welcome David Bridgeman and launch his artwork with an online solo exhibition featuring original mixed media paintings.
Entitled David Bridgeman: Finding the Way, the exhibition runs October 2-23, 2020.
The artist says about his process: “The works, although abstracted images, are rooted in some way to an object, place or emotion. They have a sense of place or belonging. They are not planned. There are no preparatory sketches. They evolve intuitively. And although there may have been some original memory or idea, that notion is long gone as the work progresses. The process of the image-making takes over and the image becomes something quite different and unexpected. I love that element of surprise.”
This experimentation lends to a sense of playfulness in the artwork. Although the viewer may seek to find meaning, abstractions allow our imaginations to wander, just as much as the artist gives permission for the art making to have its own life force.
“I utilize whatever materials and paints are currently available at the time and these dictate the image. A variety of supports are used: plywood, canvas, paper, aluminum, plastic. The images are created in a variety of ways through the use of acrylics, oils, collage, charcoal, oilstick, printmaking. There is much reworking. Each piece struggles to find its way,” says Bridgeman.
Born in Oxford, UK, Bridgeman moved to the Caribbean to teach in the 1980s. His love for the visual arts developed after meeting with a number of artists in the Cayman Islands. He is self-taught and has studied painting with several well-known artists. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Cayman, London UK, and Dominica Republic, and now has artwork in the Deutsche Bank Global Art Collection, New York, and in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands. Bridgeman lives in West Bay, Grand Cayman and works from his studio in George Town.
Reyes seems to be protecting his youthful subjects by blurring their reality. Within our current context, the uncertainty of the images is powerful. What does the future hold for today’s youth?
The Essence of Youth/ La Esencia de la Juventud. September 7 - 28, 2020.
Black Pony Gallery is pleased to announce the solo exhibition featuring original oil paintings by Cuban artist Niels Reyes.
Born in Santa Clara, Cuba, Reyes is a talented artist who graduated from painting at the Higher Institute of Art (ASI) in 2006. His paintings are powerful, which may be why he has had over ten solo exhibitions in Cuba, Spain, Switzerland, and Panama. In group exhibitions he has been showcased in Cuba, Denmark, France, USA, Spain, Mexico, China, Finland, Canada, Panama, Austria, Germany, England. Reyes holds the Grand Prize of the first post-it contemporary art competition, 2013. He has been a resident artist in the Ministry of Culture Austria, 2012 and China, 2018.
Reyes seems to be protecting his youthful subjects by blurring their reality. Within our current context, the uncertainty of the images is powerful. What does the future hold for today’s youth?
Reyes parece estar protegiendo a sus jóvenes sujetos al difuminar su realidad. Dentro de nuestro contexto actual, la incertidumbre de las imágenes es poderosa. ¿Qué les depara el futuro a los jóvenes de hoy?
A dramatic story of light and color. Moonlit scenes that blur land and sea, gothic views in shocking contrast to blasts of wild color. Energizing, contemplative photo-artistry.
AN EXCLUSIVE Q & A between artist Teresa Kirby Smith & curator Lisa Howie 04.2020.
LH: What if we start with on overall comment on the selection of artwork for the exhibition… two very different styles of expression. Can you tell me something about the process behind each style?
TKS: These color abstracts and the black and white night photographs are two ongoing series. Both are direct opposites, color images using a handheld digital camera and using sunlight as the light source. Whereas, the black and white images are created with a medium format film camera, mostly handheld, sometimes on a tripod and using moonlight as the light source.
In these color abstracts I use the late afternoon sunlight which has a more intense sharper angle. Some of the materials used in this process are colored acetate sheets, transparent color acrylic film, glass, colored water and sometimes ice. The sunlight is reflected and refracted through and off these materials creating multiple shapes. Intentional motion is often used.
My night black and white images mainly use moonlight but sometimes available light sources, i.e. flashlight or streetlight. Sometimes I use timed exposures from a few minutes to longer periods of time. Intentional movement might be added and also hand holding my camera.
LH: Your process description is a reminder that photographic images are made. Artistic constructions that, in your case, involve various resources including a steady hand. And are highly experimental.
Do you have images in your mind of what you want the artwork to look like? Or is this process much more about creative freedom?
TKS: Sometimes I preconceive an image which results well and at times it’s a bust!
ie. if an abstract image isn’t recognizable or not strong enough. In a digital camera, there are endless possibilities since you can shoot multiple images.
Whereas, in my film camera there are only 12 possible shots in a roll. If I get 1 or 2 really good ones, that’s saying a lot! And, in my night images there may not be enough light or it’s too contrived. It requires patience as well as being spontaneous.
Absolutely, there is plenty of creative freedom in my work. There are many happy accidents in photography. That’s the icing on the cake!
LH: The experimentation also tells me a lot about you. That you are patient and open-minded to the “happy accidents”. Allowing the work to reveal itself is its own skill and may be instructive for anyone reading this who wants to take risks in their art making.
What advice do you have for someone exploring the art of photography?
TKS: Look at various photography books, try to see some photo exhibitions, either online, or in galleries and museums. Learn about the history of photography. Look up online photographic magazines, i.e. Lens Culture, Photograph and L’Oiel de la Photographie. They feature exhibitions, reviews and listings of many photography shows.
Perhaps take a basic course online. Start creating images with a smartphone. Decide what styles or what is interesting to you. Maybe invest in an inexpensive digital camera and learn all you can about it.
Experiment. Practice. Keep working at it. Learn from your mistakes. Keep in mind that not all images will be interesting. Edit, edit and more editing. Be critical.
Finally, use your imagination and your instinct.
In this series of abstract paintings, Pereira explores the oceanic horizon and landscape as spaces that are at once familiar and unknown. Sculptural qualities entice us to feel the contours, to immerse into the depths, or plunge headlong into a sea with or without colour.
Leonor Almeida Pereira: The Familiar Unknown
Black Pony is delighted to welcome Leonor Almeida Pereira, a mixed media artist currently living in São Miguel Island, the Azores.
Pereira is featured in an exclusive online solo exhibition entitled The Familiar Unknown, running April 10 - May 4, 2020.
Pereira, or Loope as she would prefer to be called, has a degree in Fine Arts – Painting, from the University of Évora, Portugal, and a specialization in contemporary art studies, a Masters and Doctorate in Fine Arts, from the University of Vigo, Spain. In São Miguel, her birthplace, she has been a coordinator at the Arquipélago Contemporary Art Center and a curator at the Museum Carlos Machado. In 2018 she opened Oficina in Ponta Delgada, an art gallery and studio, where she creates her artwork and promotes the work of other artists, local and foreign.
Below is a short Q & A between the artist and curator, Lisa Howie.
LH: Since meeting you last August I’m excited to announce that you are the first non-Bermuda based artist to join Black Pony Gallery. Thank you so much for the opportunity to work together. The Azores is a beautiful place. How does island life inform your artwork?
Loope: Thank you for having me. In my artwork, I search to express a certain mood, my mood or the island’s (maybe both), using a visual language influenced by geography, geology, volcanology, etc. For me, beauty is important; I consider it a human need, a matter of health, and nature stands out as some of its scenarios are printed in my brain as guidelines. However, what drives me to do my work is something else that is present in me regardless of where I live, more like a mind set, a predisposition. I read somewhere that intuition was processed in a region of the brain called insula, a word that derives ‘island’. I found that curious. So, I guess the island informs my artwork in mysterious ways.
LH: Materials, especially paper, and how it can be transformed is of particular interest in your portfolio. Can you describe your art making process?
Loope: Paper is a very resourceful material for the numerous possibilities it gives you. You have quality paper being produced for art practice, amazing paper that enhances your best intentions, but that can also intimidate you or even paralyze you because it is so beautiful that the best thing you can do with it is let it be. This paper is pleasant and polite; a dialogue with it rarely turns into an argument. On the other hand, there is so much paper waste, paper lost from its original purposes: pages of old books with time printed on their yellowish worn-out edges that can be given a different use, one that also tells a story; or rough paper used for packaging that can be transformed into a 3D bird-view landscape. These are available and willing to participate materials, but you have to appreciate the element of surprise or, more important yet, you have to respect their unpredictable character and pay attention to what they have to say. In any case, the creative process is always a dialogue with the specific qualities of the materials and tools.
LH: I understand that you have changed gallery spaces since I was last in Ponta Delgada. How is your new location?
Loope: This new space offers better conditions to develop my artwork as well as to welcome and host the work of other artists so I’m very pleased with it. It went through a process of transformation and it was great to see it becoming what I had imagined. I’m also proud of what it represents as it houses an independent project.
LH: How is the contemporary art scene in São Miguel Island?
Loope: The Azores is now more appealing not only as a region that artists can visit and show their work, but also as a place to work in residence. But offering these opportunities is not the same as having a healthy creative local environment. We lack art-schools as well as a certain cultural dynamic that comes of a network of art professionals living here and developing their work in a regular bases, showcasing their work, talking about it, sharing concerns and points of view, joined in common projects, creating discussions and opportunities to themselves and others. It’s a field with many gaps. But I believe things are changing. I can also say that I will try to bring my contribution by developing this project the best way I can.
LH: I couldn't ask for anything more. I think the world is going to love your artwork. The best thing we can do for our ocean bound artistic talents is to find creative solutions for engaging with a wider audience. The Atlantic World is a fresh territory for the art market to explore albeit not a necessarily easy one to navigate in reality. Being online is liberating for everyone involved. And now they have found you.
In this series, Compositions, Zuill explores the inter-relationship between science, music and art, an area of focus in his work for many years. Here he addresses natural forms using mixed media and a quiet palette which together blur the boundary between painting and sculpture.
The exhibition runs November 20 – December 18, 2020.
Below is a short Q & A between the artist and curator, Lisa Howie.
LH: What were your sources of inspiration for this series of paintings?
CZ: From about 1969 to 1989, I investigated the grey scale. What triggered this interest was growing up around the ocean and the interplay of light on the ocean. What brought this interest into focus was a time during the 1960s when I spent a few days on Nonsuch Island painting this aspect of light.
My paintings were initially realistic, but by the late 1960s I had abstracted this interest to exploring the grey scale. From Paul Klee’s notes, I learned about the natural gradient in contrast to the artificial or step gradient. I spent the next twenty years investigating these concepts, including the use of a computerized spectrophotometer. This allowed me to develop very extensive, mathematically precise scales, such as one of 256 steps. This became an instrument upon which I could play and compose varying applications on the grey scale. It was not unlike a musical instrument in that regard.
I see my recent endeavors as related to my earlier grey scale work, only now extended to the three dimensional. In addition to my interest in the interplay of light on water, I am also fascinated with the Bermuda roof and the changing light and shade upon the roof as the day progresses from morning to evening.
I have always been drawn to regular shapes, such as the square, triangle or circle. My latest creations are based upon the circle. In addition to what I have already stated as a source of inspiration, I am also aware that just about everything, from atoms to galaxies, everything is spinning. The circle lends itself to expressing this sense of spinning or circulation. The titles of my latest series indicate this concept.
LH: Were you intending for a certain impact or consideration from your audience? If so, please describe.
CZ: Actually, when I am working, I am investigating concepts and variations on these concepts. From that perspective, the audience is of secondary importance. Of course, I am pleased when my viewers respond positively to what I have done, but I do not set out initially to please anyone but myself and, from that viewpoint, I am my harshest critic.
LH: How does living on an island inform your work?
CZ: Just about everything I do is in some way a response to living most of my life on an island, specifically Bermuda, be it light, sea-life, even my response to and awareness of the sky, night sky, the stars etc. are from an island perspective. I recall looking through a telescope when still very young and seeing the rings around Saturn; I remember the emotional response I felt when confronted by an awareness of deep space. I recall just how small I felt and how small the world seemed.
European Summer Colors is a digital photography series of close-up images that amplify color, texture, light and romantic details, capturing the essence of summer while providing a window into the author’s mind.
Featuring ABWilson: European Summer Colors.
Below is a short Q & A between the artist and curator, Lisa Howie.
LH: Describe your relationship with photography. When did you get started?
ABW: I’ve always loved photography. I think between my mother, who always had a camera, and my uncle, who traveled the world and brought back amazing images, I loved photography. Before I went off to college, my uncle gave me one of his old film cameras which I cherished for many years. I took a couple of photography classes in college and learned to develop black and white pictures.
The digital era changed photography for me. In 2011, I purchased my first DSLR and haven’t looked back.
LH: Beyond passion, what motivates your creative expression?
ABW: It’s hard to explain. I can see at an object and imagine how it will look through the lens. I see it in my mind first. Usually everyday things and then I look at the light on the object, what’s behind it or in front, the shadows, reflections. All of this is evaluated in my mind and then I will work to capture the picture I saw. Sometimes that image doesn’t come but when it does, I am super excited. I will then take the image from different angles and settings to make sure I have many options to select from. Then there are those images that are sheer luck. I set out to get one thing and another thing pops into the scene that I hadn’t taken into consideration. I will then turn my attention to that light, shadow, object because it was waiting, asking to be captured.
LH: Which artist(s), what art spaces or places in the world have inspired you?
ABW: I don’t think I have a specific space or place that has inspired me. A few years ago, I did an online exercise. I had to sit in one spot in a room in my house for ten minutes, then I had five minutes to photograph what I saw. That was a defining exercise for me. It allowed me to look at things I see all day every day in a new way. I like to bring that to all my photography. I can be in a basement, a supermarket, the souk in Morocco, an African market stall. I will look for the details. What is there to see that I didn’t pay attention to before? I also love going into people’s homes and looking around. I look at the light, I look for shapes, colors. Everyone has their own style. I want to zero in on that and highlight it. Help them see their space in a new and different way. If I’m in a new city, I will walk around with my camera and return the way I came. Approaching a street or walking an aisle from a different direction helps you to see that same space with new eyes.
LH: Has living in Bermuda informed your creative process?
ABW: I get excited by the light in Bermuda. We have some incredible days with stunning light. Early in the morning. Late afternoon light. Stormy days. Bermuda is an incredibly beautiful place. The colors are pure. I look for the unexpected, the overlooked, the unusual, combined with great light makes for a productive photo session for me.
