As the country experiences significant social and economic changes, the D'Aguilar Art Foundation (DAF) is demonstrating its appreciation for ongoing shifts in the Bahamian landscape with a cleverly christened quarterly exhibition. In its most recent show, Partly Cloudy With a Chance..., the foundation juxtaposes works that manifest both charming scenery with less-than-idyllic realities.
Opened on Thursday, October 2, Partly Cloudy was a joint effort by DAF Director Saskia Shutte-D'Aguilar and newly appointed DAF Curator Tessa Whitehead; the duo selected works from the foundation's collection that represent a transition away from the traditional, picturesque Bahamian landscape paintings toward pieces that offer a candid look at the Bahamian landscape.
Paintings of cloudy skies and an apocalyptic, post-hurricane Bahamas complement a mixed-media work, "Little Lizzie", by Noella Smith and ceramic pieces from Alistair Stevenson's Growth series - a body of work inspired by wild plant life on the ceramicist's native Long Island.
Whitehead credits her interest in the late Vincent D'Aguilar's affinity for art with helping her to focus the show's theme.
"I have a background in painting, and as a new part of the team, I was interested in understanding Mr. D'Aguilar's eye or choices from a formal point of view," she explained. "I know he built very strong connections with the artists he collected from and bought work first and foremost because he liked it or had an emotional connection to it. There is a hand-written note by Mr. D'Aguilar in the foundation's office that reads, 'Technique in itself is not enough. It is important for the artist to develop the power to convey emotion'."
A successful and well-traveled businessman, Whitehead noted that D'Aguilar "would have had such an in-depth understanding of the trends, patterns and correlations between politics and subject matter in Caribbean painting". She and Shutte-D'Aguilar took the opportunity to "illustrate the development of landscape painting in The Bahamas" accordingly.
The works span almost five decades, beginning with a late 1960s painting by Angelo Roker titled "Colourful Sky with Coconut Tree and Seagrape" showing partly cloudy skies above a choppy seascape. Partly Cloudy highlights a development in the years preceding Bahamian independence and after. "I think you can see the artists' relationship with the landscape change quite drastically after this point (independence)," said Whitehead.
The varied group of artists presented in Partly Cloudy is an element of the show that Shutte-D'Aguilar and Whitehead take pride in. According to Whitehead, on the exhibition's opening night, the collaborative product delighted art enthusiasts and the featured artists who "saw their older work hanging in a new context, or newer work hanging alongside older paintings".
"We pulled out a lot of paintings that are rarely exhibited for this show, and certainly that I had never seen," she said. "I was proud to be able to hang such a wide spectrum of Bahamian works together that are all really special works in themselves, and to be able to hang a younger Bahamian artist, with some of the more established artists."
The younger artist she referred to is Bernard Petit, whose "Lagging Behind" is one of the paintings to enhance the foundation's space for the exhibition.
For Whitehead, the best thing about the show is the paintings' "visual substance".
"They reveal more and more with a second and third look," she said. "Every time I go in the gallery, I fall more in love with Angelo Roker's painting 'Colourful Sky with Coconut tree and Seagrape'. I can just feel the weather the day that it was painted, and it feels like a subtle but critical look at the exotic or utopian landscape that we have been branded with."
Partly Cloudy With a Chance... will be on display at the D'Aguilar Art Foundation until November 30. Visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or by appointment. Those interested in finding out more about the D'Aguilar Art Foundation are encouraged to visit its website at http://daguilarartfoundation.com/.

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