CLICO Art Gallery - The best of what Caribbean Art has to offer

December 18, 2006 to January 12, 2007

The Gallery at CLICO

As part of its 70th Anniversary celebrations, CLICO is proud to highlight the creativity of the company’s very own staff, agents, affiliates and managers. CLICO has supported the work of over 90 Caribbean artists over the last fifteen years, so it is only natural for CLICOites and those closely associated with CLICO to also get an opportunity to show their artistic side.

The works were selected from an in-house call for imaginative expressions in a variety of media. CLICO wishes its budding artists all success with their chosen avenues of expression and hopes that with the help of this exhibition that celebrates their work, they will be inspired to continue.

The arrival of the Chinese as indentured labourers in Trinidad in 1806 ushered in what was to become an important component of the national fabric of Trinidad and Tobago. The Chinese community has distinguished itself as a community of achievers in all walks of life, and, in this connection, CLICO is proud to recognize their achievements in the 200th anniversary of their arrival.

It was decided to recognize accomplishment through individual family stories, and, through the generosity and graciousness of five Trinidadian families, this exhibition of family histories, some dating back six generations, has been made possible. The images are from the private archives of these families, who shared some of their family history to tell of how their forbears came to Trinidad and how the subsequent generations have lived here. The featured families are the Chans, the Lees, the Lee Lums, the Dayals, and the Yip Choys, all of whom discussed aspects of their background to give us insight into the fascinating stories of their lineage.

Of great interest is the fact that many Chinese immigrants in Guyana (then British Guiana) decided to come to Trinidad. Others came from other parts of South America, the United States, or straight from China. However, regardless of how they got here, the rich history of their presence is something of which every national of Trinidad and Tobago can be proud.

The exhibition also features some artifacts with a Chinese heritage, many of which are part and parcel of our national consciousness.

A special ‘thank you’ goes to Gary Chan and Jeffrey Chock, who assisted in the recording, reconstruction and digitizing of the historical photographs. Trevor Millette’s book, The Chinese in Trinidad, also proved to be a valuable resource. And, once, again, thank you to the participating families.

CLICO is pleased to present the second installment of Young Points of View, an exhibition that exclusively showcases young, emerging Caribbean artists. The works of four artists are featured this time – Sabrina Charran, Khama Cox, Leona Fabien and Paul Kain. Each has his or her own way of communicating ideas on a variety of surfaces, and their interpretations of figure and form warrant closer observation, as does the philosophy behind their work.

The CLICO collection is a repository for the works of many artists from several Caribbean territories. In this exhibition, works were selected from the collection for their investigation into the human face and/or the symbolism carried within the images. Many of the symbols lend themselves to narratives for various elements of the Caribbean historical and cultural experience, while some are concerned with broader and more abstract concepts of existence.

Peter Minshall’s Carnival Drawings is an exhibition on tour from the prestigious Drawing Center of New York, where it was exhibited last September and October. The exhibition will enable audiences to gain insight into the artistic process behind some of the most compelling visual dramas in contemporary theater. In Minshall’s preparatory works, drawing is revealed as the direct reflection of creative thought, capturing the vigorous and often chaotic flow of ideas from which final designs are more fully developed.

Elisabeth Kley, a reviewer for Art News, one of the leading art magazines of the United States, has called the Drawing Center's exhibition “utterly captivating", noting in particular that the sketches occur on such diverse surfaces as drawing paper, hotel stationery, and Post-it notes. Also of note are excerpts from an eighty-page letter which describe detailed instructions for a Josephine Baker costume. As a special addition, this version of the exhibition will feature the sketches from Minshall's winning presentation of this year, The Sacred Heart.

To reflect both the energy of this process and that of the actual performances, the works are displayed close together and loosely hung on the walls, creating an image and material analogous to the artist’s dynamic Carnival band pieces. In his own words:

Calypso Music in Postwar America
Photographs and Illustrations, 1945-1960
(travelling exhibition from the Historical Museum of Southern Florida)

January 9 – March 3, 2006

Calypso Music in Postwar America explores the major impact of Trinidadian calypso on the popular culture of the United States between 1945 and 1960. Rare photographs and promotional graphics are used to trace calypso in phonograph recordings, song publishing, nightclub acts, concerts, Broadway shows and Hollywood movies. During the postwar years, Americans were captivated by calypso's poetic statements, social observations and complex rhythms.

In 1945 the Andrews Sisters' recording of Lord Invader's "Rum and Coca-Cola" soared to the top of the charts. In 1956 Harry Belafonte released Calypso, which became the first single-artist album in entertainment history to sell more than one million copies. Among the many other famous calypso artists of the period were Sir Lancelot, the Duke of Iron and Macbeth the Great, all from Trinidad, and Lord Flea from Jamaica. Calypsoes were also sung by a variety of American popular singers, such as Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Josephine Premice, Maya Angelou, the Tarriers and the Easy Riders.

By presenting documentation of this wide range of performers, the exhibition examines how calypso's popularity was shaped by mass media, a booming entertainment industry, Caribbean migration to the U.S., American military service and tourism in the Caribbean, and the postwar folk music revival.

Calypso Music in Postwar America includes more than 100 photographs, songbooks, pieces of sheet music, record album covers, movie posters and other original graphics related to calypso in the United States, 1945-1960. Much of the material is from the private collection of Ray Funk, a popular music researcher based in Fairbanks, Alaska. Additional items are from a variety of archives in the United States, the United Kingdom and Trinidad.

The Art of Caribbean Women
CLICO 2006 calendar art

December 1, 2005 – January 6, 2006

CLICO is honoured to present the work of twelve female modern and contemporary visual artists of the Caribbean, each from a different Caribbean territory, for its 2006 calendar. They vary as dramatically in their approach to their artistic practice as they do in their rich personal heritage, but at the core, as architects of powerful imagery, they are concerned with what it is to be Caribbean, and a woman.

This is my home, my native land
Fifty years of photography by Noel Norton
Exhibition on the occasion of the University of Trinidad and Tobago graduand recognition exercise.

November 7 – 18, 2005

Young Points of View
The works of three emerging artists

October – November 4, 2005

The Gallery at CLICO is showing the work of three young artists, Cadence Benjamin, James Hackett and Nikolai Noel. They work in various media, and are inspired, in subject matter and technique, by various contemporary phenomena such as video games, the internet, and other elements of the digital world, as well contemporaneous societal issues. The exhibition continues to November 4.

Laventille Walk

September 13 – September 27, 2005

A brief look into the history of Laventille reveals a tapestry of culture rich with music, dance and architecture. Originally settled in the 1800s, it is regarded as the birthplace of the steelpan - its most celebrated sons being Winston "Spree" Simon and Rudolf "The Hammer" Charles. In 2005, Laventille is not an easy place. But it is still a community, and people still live, and love, in their Laventille.

With his subtly-coloured mural, artist Anthony Timothy, who has lived in Laventille since the 1970s, creates an inviting space: a street which beckons the viewer to walk and experience the environment of one of the richest cultural centres in Trinidad and Tobago. As the viewer takes the "Laventille Walk", a neat house might emerge, so too a pan side, or a clump of banana trees. It is a voyage of quiet discovery as one perambulates through the gallery's corridor.

Dance
Yuh
Dance
A Photographic Exhibition of
Movement and Gesture

July – September 2005

In any society, there are ways in which the body moves or configures itself. It approaches the spatial reality of its surroundings and tries to connect with the things and beings around it. Dance Yuh Dance seeks to explore a small portion of how our society uses movement to communicate.

Movement is a many-edged term when it comes to the body. Sometimes it is encased in gesture or a pose as opposed to flinging the body through space; sometimes it will occur in unexpected places and sometimes it is approached with pure abandon. Above all, the most striking body movement is the one that is intensely personal – that fleeting moment when the psychological intent of the mover and the movement or gesture itself are one. That is when the person is dancing their dance.

The photographers whose work appears in this exhibition are all observers of dance in their own way; Jeffrey Chock and Mark Lyndersay have photographed Carnival and dance in concert performances since the 1970s and 1980s respectively; Alex Smailes has composed a recent visual essay of the participants of the SWWTU dance events.

Other images come from the archives of “Boyie” Dalla Costa – one of the pioneers of commercial photography in Trinidad and Tobago - and some appear courtesy of the Government Information Service. Still others are the commercial imagery of popular culture.

It is hoped that the images will stir in you the urge to make your own personal statement in movement. Dance Yuh Dance.

Cricket Lovely Cricket
An exhibition of cricket drawings

May 13- June 13, 2005

The Gallery at CLICO will present the work of contemporary visual artist Wendy Nanan from May 13 – June 13. Nanan’s cricket series, which was created over several years of observing cricket in the Oval and elsewhere, looks at the gesture and form of the game. The work comes in the form of ink drawings, etchings and an installation of giant cricket hats. The exhibition is free to the public. The entrance is on Edward Street. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00 – 6:00 pm, Saturday, 10:00 – 4:00pm.

Festivals, Rituals & Beauty selected works from the CLICO collection
March – May 6, 2005

Colonial Life Insurance Company is pleased to present Festivals, Rituals and Beauty – works from its Caribbean collection highlighting aspects of festivals and rituals of the Caribbean, as well as the works from the 2005 CLICO calendar - Caribbean World of Beauty - which showcases one of the Caribbean’s foremost painters, Boscoe Holder. With its multi-ethnic history, the Caribbean is home to an array of festivals and traditions which came from different continents, but now reside in Caribbean space in their own way, with their own sense of being and belonging. Painters such as Carlisle Chang and Isaiah Boodhoo are masters in capturing the essence of these traditions - from Carnival to Kartik, these traditions help to make us who we are. Irenee Shaw's rich renderings of famous contributors to Trinidad and Tobago culture also speak volumes about the tapestry of talent emanating from the region. The work of the many other artists whose work is represented also celebrates the region's diverse interpretations of traditions. As a corollary to these Caribbean traditions, Boscoe Holder's works highlight aspects of the lush Caribbean, the beauty of some of its women, and the power of colour, form and light in this part of the world.

Bosoce Holder's Caribbean World of Beauty

June 2004 - March 2005

The work of one of tne of the region's most celebrated painters was highlighted in the inaugural exhibition at THE GALLERY at CLICO. Boscoe Holder, who has been painting images of the the lush and beautiful aspects of the Caribbean for over sixty years, was celebrated with a display of over 50 of his works, ranging from his famous portraiture of Caribbean women in traditional wear to landscapes to still life.