The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas invites the public to the Official Opening Reception of the Retrospective Exhibition “Kendal Hanna – Happy Birthday to Me” on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 6.30pm at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas on West Hill Street.
Kendal Hanna was born on June 25, 1936 in Nassau, Bahamas. This exhibition is timed to coincide with the artist’s 75th birthday and will feature key works from his almost sixty-year career.
In spite of there not being many examples to follow, Kendal Hanna always knew he wanted to be an artist. At an early age he met the American artist John St. John (1911-1986) and undertook his first formal drawing lessons with him. Later he became one of the first Bahamians to join the now famous Chelsea Pottery.
At the Pottery, he became friends with future Bahamian artist luminaries such as Maxwell Taylor and Brent Malone. Hanna has always had an experimental mind and at an early stage became immersed in the ideas and possibilities of Abstract Expressionism. While he concedes that his work may be difficult, he surmises:
“Everybody is more familiar with what is visible in an object, what the eye is focused on outwardly. When people express themselves like this it does surprise them. It is my subconscious mind expressing itself on the canvas. People will be faced with the unknown…
“One thing I’m quite certain of is my identity exists in these works. People looking at these works will know that I am a black man and that I am Bahamian.”
In 2009, Kendal Hanna received the E. Clement Bethel Award for his contribution to Bahamian art from the College of The Bahamas. In 2011, he is being honored with a retrospective exhibition at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.
Kindly RSVP at Telephone (242) 328-5800/1 by Tuesday, July 12, 2011.
