Looking back on his body of work, artist Che Lovelace realises it has all been about Trinidad and Tobago.
With that in mind, he is even more excited about introducing new markets to his work and his country.
Lovelace, 52, recently exhibited his work at Various Small Fires gallery in Los Angeles (LA) where one of his pieces was acquired by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) LA to form part of its permanent collection, and several other pieces will be shown at the upcoming Independent art fair in New York.
He told Sunday Newsday he has travelled to many countries but has never been bored of being in TT.
“I’ve never felt like I’ve figured this place out or know everything about it. When there are things to discover that keeps you going.
[caption id="attachment_910034" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Che Lovelace at his exhibition, From the Edge of the Rock, Various Small Fires art gallery, Los Angeles, in May 2021. PHOTOS COURTESY CHE LOVELACE. -[/caption]
“It’s really a wondrous place to be a creative in. I feel that I have a lifetime of work to do here and I don’t think I’ll run out of things to paint here, ever.
“When I look at my own work I almost feel like my subject, in a way, has been Trinidad.”
He explained that all his work generally follows a few themes – the human body, interiors, and nature images. These themes encompass dancers, musicians, still life, Carnival, landscapes, flora and fauna.
Nyabinghi Drummers, his 2021 piece acquired by MOCA LA in July, is part of a recent body of work along those themes.
“I had not really done many paintings where I focussed on the idea of music. I’ve been doing that for the last few paintings including one called Drum Spirit. There is also one I just finished called The Blind Drummer where I’m trying to find a visual equivalent to sound – something that feels musical when you look at it.”
Nyabinghi Drummers also has a “community feel” with intersecting worlds. It features drummers, school girls looking on, a female singer and a village or town in the background.
[caption id="attachment_910036" align="alignnone" width="887"] Nyabinghi Drummers, acquired for the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. -[/caption]
“It’s one of those paintings that managed to bring three elements together in one window. It was a unique one in that sense because I tend to tackle one scene but this particular painting was a couple scenes within a scene. There is a complexity to the image that I was trying to bring across.”
Lovelace recently started working with and being represented by the Various Small Fires art gallery which is based in LA, California but also has a space in Seoul, South Korea.
There he had a solo exhibition from March 6-April 17 called From the Edge of the Rock. Representatives from MOCA LA saw the exhibition and expressed interest in his work.
Nyabinghi Drummers was not part of the exhibition as it was not yet completed when the 11 large pieces were chosen for the show. Since the show was “quite well-receive
