‘From Colony to Nation’ opens at Castellani House

May 15, 2016 News

– Showcases fascinating art from pre-independence era and beyond

A special art exhibition titled ‘From Colony to Nation,’ is currently on at the Castellani House, Vlissengen Road and Homestretch Avenue Georgetown.

A section of the gallery at Castellani House.

The exhibit showcases a number of fascinating artifacts locally inspired, produced, and garnered over the past five decades.
The showcase which opened on Wednesday is being hosted by the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum, University of Guyana and the St Joseph Mercy Hospital as part of activities to mark Guyana‘s 50th Independence anniversary.
The art show features major highlights some of which include the earliest works of art which still exist in Guyana, traces and the beginnings of Guyanese art through the emergence of the pioneers in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Contained in the art catalogue are the church statuary, sign paintings, pottery, petroglyphs; (craving in stone), basketry, weaving and other creations; work of locally renowned artists Phillip Moore, E.R Burrowes, Stanley Greaves, Patrick Barrington, George Bowen, David Singh and so many artists unknown, and unnamed before the coming of the formal western-oriented art to Guyana.
The display also offers a panoramic view of how art has paralleled the growth of the nation.
Visiting art lovers will get a glimpse of what Guyana looked like over one hundred years ago and the impact of inhering influences of Africa, India and the indigenous peoples who resist submersion and surface in powerfully meaningful ways in art.
“From Colony to Nation – is starkly descriptive and appropriate for the purpose of “reflecting, celebrating and inspiring”
The exhibits capture morsels of Guyana’s pre independence era and Dutch, French and British influences.
Perhaps one of the most fascinating pieces from that era is a depiction of an original portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh, an English explorer, writer and politician, who was said to have voyaged to South America in Search of the Golden “City El Dorado.”
Sir Walter was said to have published an exaggeration of his experience in the book ‘Legend of El Dorado’ following an unsuccessful voyage to this part in the 1600s. He was one of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan Era. He was featured in 2002 as one of the top 100 Britons.
The portrait was painted by Dorofield Hardy in 1933. The decades old artifact is said to be worth a lot of money but is not for sale.
The exhibition closes on June 30, 2016. (Rehanna Ramsay)