• Extract on Exhibition, Reflexion is a retrospective exhibition featuring work by abstract artist Oliver Benoit over the last 30 years.

    Extract on Exhibition

    Reflexion is a retrospective exhibition featuring work by abstract artist Oliver Benoit over the last 30 years.

    This is the first major presentation of his work in a Grenada public gallery and offers a unique opportunity to experience this outstanding artistic vision. The exhibition will open on Thursday, 15 February 2024 and run Monday to Saturday until 30 April 2024. The multipurpose venue St Paul’s Community Centre in Grenada, will be transformed into a site-specific, temporary space called The Gallery.

     

    The solo exhibition brings together approximately forty works ranging from early paintings to the recent Shakespeare Mas text based Whipping the Mind series which represented Grenada at the 56th Biennale di Venezia. On show will be large scale pieces and smaller expressions of art, most of the work have never been exhibited before. His works tell important stories, prioritising aesthetics and movement through intricate layers of abstraction, decoding the symbolism, techniques, and philosophies.  Reflexion is an immersive tapestry of colour, form, and emotions that shows how Oliver Benoit constantly pushes the boundaries of art making. The exhibition is presented in five main themes, it is curated by Susan Mains and Anne Labovitz.

     

    A comprehensive programme of events will accompany Reflexion. The Gallery will host twice weekly panel discussions and talks led by distinguished regional and international scholars and artists. The audience are encouraged to engage in a discourse.  These interactive exchanges are intended to stimulate attendees and develop their understanding and interpretation of abstract art while fostering a deeper connection with the exhibited works and their rhizomic relations with the movement of art and culture in the Grenadian econosphere.

     

    The Gallery also invites Secondary Schools, aspiring artists and Art students to engage with the Artist by examining the complexities of the creative process, gaining insights that extend beyond the canvas. Discussions will introduce creating abstract art from: conceptualization; the selection and preparation of materials, including the meticulous stretching of canvases, to the actual application of strokes and the revelation of the artistic vision to the technical and artistic aspects of displaying artwork; and the importance of art and preserving art in a society. 

  • Extract on Work

    Extract on Work

    Oliver Benoit’s artwork is distinctive, it combines rich texture, intricate layers of paint, abstraction, and colour that tell important stories: prioritising aesthetics and movement. Decoding symbolism, his work visually encapsulates a broad range of cultural, sociological, and philosophical allusion from the evolving frontiers of slavery, colonialism, immigration, post-colonialism, revolution and invasion. Spanning the breadth of disciplines from the expansive world of his creativity, Oliver Benoit juxtapositions paint, text, and historical ephemera including crushed bricks, hessian, and newsprint.

     

    Benoit presents decolonising narratives and a disruptive discourse about remembrance and memory, similarities and differences. His alternative perspectives, provide insight into ritual, rites, and traditional Caribbean norms. 

     

    The significance of Benoit’s artwork lies in his evolving practice, grounded in an exploration of the sociocultural and political issues confronting Grenada. The artist is driven by a desire to understand his homeland's conflicting identities, societal frustrations, and life’s complexities. His work exposes taboo subjects with intense colour, and original materiality, positioning simple everyday objects. They are markers of the Caribbean experience and identity which contest definitions of high culture while evoking the hope-filled sadness that permeates the region.

     

    Benoit continually invites comment and reflection on Grenada’s decision making over the last 50 years, questioning whether it has actually contributed to liberating the contemporary mind from the colonial past?

  • Event Schedule

    Week 1

    THUR, 15 FEB, 5–8PM

    Opening exhibition, reception and presentation.

    Opening remarks by the Minister for Culture, Ron Redhead
    Curators’ comments

     

    TUE, 20 FEB, 6–8PM

    Panel discussion: The Importance of the Arts in Caribbean Society
    Dr Merle Collins presentation

     

    Week 2

    THUR, 22 FEB, 6–8PM

    Art and the Grenada Revolution: The Impact of Billboards
    Ms Suelin Low Chew Tung

     

    TUE, 27 FEB, 5–7PM

    The history and use of colour in Grenadian aesthetics
    Mr Michael Julien

     

    Week 3

    THUR, 29 FEB, 5–7PM

    Music and Art
    Atiba Benoit & Tiffany Strachan

     

    TUE, 5 MAR, 6–8PM

    Caribbean Art at Havana Biennial: How Can Grenada Qualify?
    Mr José Manuel Noceda, Art Historian
    Specialist of Wilfredo Lam & Caribbean and Central American Art

     

    Week 4

    THUR, 7 MAR, 6–8PM

    The art in Commancheros Mas’ Band over the past 50 years
    Mr Cecil Noel

     

    TUE, 12 MAR, 6–8PM

    The role of the media in reporting on the visual arts in the OECS: Is the depth of analysis adequate?
    Dr Adrian Augier

     

    Week 5

    19 MARCH, 6–8PM

    The role of art in education over the past 50 years
    Dr. Yvonne Weeks

     

    21 MARCH, 6–8PM

    The Future Landscape of The Art Industry In Grenada