Article by Theresa Storm.
Caribbean art emerges from a unique fusion of cultures, histories, geographies and lived experiences. The art scene is rich and diverse, with many established and emerging artists making significant contributions with their work in various media.
Here’s a look at the artistic highlights of three islands:
Saint Martin’s Sir Roland Richardson, Plein-Air Master
Sir Roland Richardson with one of his vibrant flamboyant tree masterpieces; photo courtesy of the Roland Richardson Gallery.
You can’t talk about Caribbean art without naming Sir Roland Richardson, one of the region’s most celebrated artists. Saint Martin’s native son, Richardson is likely the most famous living West Indian plein-air impressionist, internationally acclaimed for his vibrant, evocative Caribbean landscapes, seascapes and portraits.
Born in Marigot in 1944 to a family whose French Caribbean heritage dates to the 1700s, in the house that now adjoins his Roland Richardson Gallery Museum, it was a school guidance counsellor who recognized Richardson’s natural gift for drawing. Later he earned a Fine Art Degree at Hartford Art School and spent his early twenties abroad.
Returning to Saint Martin, he began recording his culture and the isle’s natural landscape with a paintbrush and palette. He paints exclusively En plein air, working on location and always from a living subject.
Over the past 60 years, he has created one of the largest bodies of Caribbean works by a single artist and had more than 100 exhibitions. Known as the “father of Caribbean impressionism”, his contributions to the art form are taught in universities worldwide.
In 1998, he and wife Laura opened their gallery museum to the public in a restored 19th century Creole townhouse in Marigot, on land that has been in his family since the 1700s. Sadly, it is no longer open.
However, on island, you can still view his work. At La Samanna, A Belmond Hotel, there’s an exquisite exhibition of originals. “This is a particularly interesting venue because the views of the turquoise Caribbean Sea and 55 acres of tropical gardens are truly mesmeric. Roland loves painting on site,” explains Laura.
He adds, “From my first encounter, I have always had a deep attachment to this island gem, surrounded by living turquoise, soft white sand and gentle sea breeze. Working at La Samanna is a true gift to me.”
Richardson’s art also graces the public spaces and rooms of Grand Case Beach Club, which has an online gallery of limited edition giclées on canvas. Nearby, his paintings also adorn the walls of restaurant L’Auberge Gourmande. In departure lounge shops at Princess Juliana Airport you can also buy his prints.
Curaçao’s Oldest and Largest Art Gallery
Discover local colour and creativity at Gallery Alma Blou in Curaçao; photo courtesy of the Gallery Alam Blou.
Gallery Alma Blou is located in a historic mansion in Willemstad, Curaçao, now celebrating its 29th anniversary.
Ten years after opening their former Kas di Alma Blou Gallery in 1996, expansion was on the minds of owners Lusette and Herman Verboom. So Lusette, the curator, and Herman bought the unoccupied and dilapidated Landhuis Habaai, a former plantation house dating to around 1752. In the mansion’s ruins, they saw it had an ideal layout to house their dream — a large main gallery to serve as its heart, flanked by both a front and back gallery.
After extensive restoration, the doors to Gallery Alma Blou opened in 2006. Today it showcases and sells the visual arts of more than 30 local artists, plus works from the surrounding Caribbean islands. The featured artists’ themes and materials vary, “but all art has a Caribbean energy,” says the gallery’s website. “Artists are inspired by the colours, architecture, people, underwater life, the fresh wind, mythology, the Caribbean Sea and the local landscape.”
On the website’s artist tab, you can view the work of some of the gallery’s traditional, modern and contemporary artists. Painting, sculpture, ceramic, jewelry and doll collections are exhibited in the different gallery spaces and visitors are invited to rotating exhibitions and events.
After wandering through the Gallery’s exhibition areas in the Landhuis Habaai, pay a visit to the separate Curaçao Folk Art Shop, also onsite. Here the Verbooms’ goal is showcasing local artisans’ skills in making original, quality handcrafts for souvenirs, gifts and household items. Some of the artisans utilize disposable materials like driftwood, calabash and coconut In their crafts. In the Folk Art Shop you will also find books and music showcasing more of the island’s artistic talent.
Street Art of the Guadeloupe Islands
Colourful and vibrant street art brings the walls of Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe to life. Photo courtesy of the Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Committee.
Exploring the six largest islands of the Guadeloupe archipelago ((add link when it’s back up)) in the French West Indies, an overseas department of France, is a journey through a vibrant open-air art gallery. While urban art is sprinkled in many global cities and destinations, here bold, colourful street art catches one’s eye almost everywhere, each work an illustrated story of Guadeloupean culture, daily activities, mythology and folklore, historic events and portraits of notable people, all told from the artist’s perspective.
Each island has its own identity, reflected in its murals. In the city of Pointe-à-Pitre on Grande-Terre, one of the two main islands, urban landscapes and Creole life are portrayed on contemporary murals and frescoes that adorn sometimes dilapidated historic buildings, giving new life to neighbourhoods like Lauricisque.
In Basse-Terre, the other major island, murals portray historical, social and political events. Around the capital, also named Basse-Terre, walls convey the isle’s resistant spirit and resilience to painful times in history, like slavery, and meaningful messages about environmental protection or women’s rights.
Street art with a different flavour and focus beautifies Guadeloupe’s four smaller isles. In La Désirade’s nautical murals, maritime legends are brought to life to tell islanders’ stories of their traditions, fishing and the sea.
In the archipelago of Les Saintes, murals are joyful. On the main islands of Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas, paintings depict iconic Saintoise boats, fishing scenes and island life. Whereas, the traditional street art of rural Marie-Galante focuses on its heritage, culture and the land, with murals depicting sugarcane fields, rum distilleries and the biguine, a traditional dance.
In addition to renowned local artists, festivals Just Graff It (Marie-Galante in July) and the World Kreyol Art Festival (Pointe-à-Pitre in November), invite worldwide talent to contribute to the archipelago’s ever-growing street art scene.
Take it all in on a self-guided or guided walking or tuk-tuk tour.
Article and photography Theresa Storm.
A four-month-long solo island-hopping adventure through the Caribbean 28 years ago ignited Theresa’s passion for the tropics, culture, nature and trying new adventures.
Back home in Calgary, her increasingly restless, itchy feet soon led to a career writing about travel worldwide. She loves escaping winter for warmer climes, especially to the Caribbean, which has long felt like her real home.
As an award-winning travel writer and photographer, she’s penned scores of articles for magazines, newspapers and e-zines, and contributed to books including Caribbean Escapes and the first edition of DK Eyewitness Caribbean.
Her articles and photographs have been published in magazines including Bon Vivant, Extraordinary Experiences and Vacations (Ensemble Travel Group), Wanderlust (U.K.), Avenue Calgary, WestJet (WestJet Airline’s in-flight), Morning Calm (Korean Air’s in-flight), LUXE Magazine Canada, AAA publications, Cruise & Travel Lifestyles, Dreamscapes and Today’s Parent.
She is a two-time winner of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Canadian Travel Writer of the Year award and twice won CTO’s best photograph with a feature article and best online feature. She also was honoured with the Travel Media Association of Canada’s excellence in Caribbean travel writing award.
