| reviews & features | galleries | art museums | schools & universities | other museums | hot links |

Secret gardens

'Caribbean Visions' is a peek at the lush life

by Leon Nigrosh

CARIBBEAN VISIONS: CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE at the Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut, through June 22.

The Wadsworth Atheneum is currently hosting the first major US exhibition of contemporary Caribbean art. The obvious question is that aside from the 58 artists' shared birthplace or residence, what makes their work Caribbean art? The Caribbean is made up of 32 diverse countries, territories, and colonies with a variety of languages and home to separate cultures and numerous religions. However, it is this diversity that is the hallmark of Caribbean art. That and the light.

The Caribbean has often been considered as the crossroads of the world. European colonials brought their languages along with Roman Catholicism and Protestantism to the islands. Enslaved Africans continued to practice Santeria, Shango, and other religions, while indentured Asians came with Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and a host of cultural and linguistic influences. Mix in a little greed, crime, poverty, and illiteracy, along with dictators like Castro and Papa Doc, and you've got fertile ground for a wellspring of artistic commentary.

The works in this exhibition are not your cruise line, port o' call, tourist chachkies. The majority of the artists holds advanced degrees from some of the world's finest art schools, and their work is breathtaking in every sense of the word. Most of the paintings and sculpture are large -- very large -- as though the natural expanse of ocean and sky has allowed these island artists a greater vision than those confined to an urban setting. Because the Caribbean lies between the tropic of Cancer and the equator, the angle that the sunlight pours over the landscape is different than we norteamericanos are used to seeing. This clear, brilliant light is a major influence in the way these artists splash their vibrant colors across their paintings.

Arnaldo Roche Rabell's La Sabiduria de la loca (The Wisdom of the Madwoman) is a product of many of these conditions. This Puerto Rican artist (who holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago) slathered his hands in brilliant red and yellow paints and then traced the figure of a friend lying beneath his 7-foot-square canvas. The prickly image of a wild-eyed, fern-encrusted female is rife with spiritual connotations.

Born out of wedlock, LeRoy Clarke was a "no-name" in his hometown, Port of Spain, Trinidad, until he found Shango. He claims rebirth through this African-Caribbean religion and expresses his thoughts through his monumental paintings such as Apotheosis of El Tucuche. Circles, squares, and triangles contain large, green anthropomorphic figures, the largest of which stares right through the viewer. In Clarke's 5-by-7-foot hot red, orange, and yellow Pantheon, we can almost hear the myriad elder spirits whispering.

Haitian-born artist Edouard Duval Carrié claims that the island's voodoo religion is so all-encompassing that "it is a part of you, even if you don't practice." His Les Trois Petits Anges (Three Small Angels) seems sprightly enough until you take a closer look and a more sinister effect begins to emerge.

Other artists take different approaches to their work. Some deal only with their personal identity, others confine themselves to strictly formal issues, while still others take an overtly political tack. To help maintain some sense of order and balance, the museum has organized this vast exhibit into five categories. By doing this, one can enjoy the formality of Haitian-born Jean Claude Rigaud's welded-steel sculptures or the abstract landscapes by Cayman-born Bendel Hydes (who got his BA at Clark University) without being disturbed by the violence in Cuban artist Tomás Esson's bloody painting of a soldier Mala punteria (Bad Aim).

Also worthy of note are two chairs by Jamaican-born sculptor Albert Chong who is currently an associate professor of art at RISD. As part of a series dedicated to ancestral spirits, one found chair is covered with cowrie shells, another chair is covered with fish skins and Joshua tree spines, which represent offerings to the gods. Jamaican sculptor Christopher Gonzalez reaches deep into his African ancestry for inspiration in such works as the 3-by-6-foot wood-relief carving of a brooding Dogon, The Sage, and his voluptuous carved mahogany version of The Tree of Life.

With more than 80 colorful paintings and sensuous sculptures arranged in four galleries, set aside plenty of time to let the magical mystery of each unique image work its spell on you.

The Wadsworth Atheneum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (860) 278-2670.