Press Release
September 6 – October 20, 2018
Skoto Gallery is pleased to present Circular Journey III, annexhibition of recent work by Jamaica-born artist Bryan McFarlane. Thisnis his first solo show at the gallery. The reception is on Thursday, September 6, 6-8pm. The artist will be present.
Bryan McFarlane?s work continues his long-standing commitment tonthe exploration of color, form and abstraction as means to expand thenboundaries between art and consciousness. Over the past three decades, henhas consistently remained true to an artistic vision that is firmly rootednin the fissure between the natural world and the world of the imagination. Hendraws on a synthesis of intellect and emotions to create work that simultaneouslynpreserves an overall fluency, intensity and beauty. An astute observer of thenworld around him, he draws inspiration from his travels throughout China, EastnAsia, Turkey, West Africa, South America, Europe and the Caribbean as he seeknto integrate his rich and varied cultural experience into a critical frameworknthat quietly and powerfully address issues of history, culture andnidentity. The visual resonance in his work is undeniable, attesting to annawareness of art historical precedents and ability to seamlessly fuse ancientnand modern concepts and aesthetics with the flow of ideas between East and Westnto confront tradition while encouraging us to embrace a more expansivendefinition of modernism.
Bicycles inform the conceptual and aesthetic underpinning of BryannMcFarlane?s recent pictures. To the artist, the bicycle serves as a symbol ofnChina?s rapid transformation and allows him to develop deeper understanding ofnthe country. In this body of work, the artist endeavors to give visual forms tonimaginations animated by perceptions of the bicycle as a ubiquitous icon innChinese society. As eloquently stated by Edmund Barry Gaither, Director, Museumnof the National Center of Afro-American Artists in Boston, Massachusetts in hisncatalog essay for the artist?s recent exhibition in Kingston, Jamaica: BryannMcFarlane deconstructs the bicycle treating the parts as fragments and freelynsuggesting ways in which they might be reassembled. He also abstracts from thenbicycle conceptual notions such as circularity. Circular tire forms evolve intonspirals of color and movement. The aesthetic overwhelms the practical, thenconcrete images yield to the liberation of abstraction.
Bryan McFarlane was born in Moore Town, Portland, Jamaica. He wasneducated at the Edna Manley College of Art, Kingston, Jamaica and earned a MFAnat the Massachusetts College of Art in 1983. He is Professor of Painting andnDrawing at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and has previously servednas Visiting Professor to a number of institutions including the University ofnthe West Indies and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. He worked on a three year project with EMMASnand TERC in Microbiome Research and another three years at ?Woods Hole? withnMIT scientist through a grant from the National Science Foundation. McFarlane has been featured in numerous exhibitions locally andninternationally and is well represented in a number of public and privatencollections. His painting and mixed media works explore his Maroon heritage,nAfrican Diaspora culture and the environmental threats to the Anthropocene. He wasnawarded a gold medal by the Chinese Government for his entry in the OlympicsnFine Arts Exhibition, Beijing in 2008. He was also awarded the prestigious SilvernMusgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica for his contribution to art and artneducation. Bryan McFarlane lives in Boston, USA and St. Andrew, Jamaica. Boston.
Artist Statement
I have a long and committed interest in the intersection of thenpractice of art making, art history and contemporary critical discussion. As annartist, I have been fortunate to receive several previous grants that allowednme to travel extensively to Brazil; Columbia; West Africa; Turkey; Japan andnChina to engage in international discourse regarding art history, artnproduction and criticism. My engagement with the arts is also an intellectualnendeavor. At every point, I have sought not simply to create art, but tonunderstand the implications and possibilities for art within art history,ncriticism and philosophy as an intrinsic part of travel for art production.
China has recently become a very special part of my journey. Inbelieve this time, it is one which will unquestionably define a most importantnperiod of my life?s work as an artist/painter. I initially set up a studionresidency at the Red Gate Gallery for over two months during the summer ofn2007. This activity allowed me the incentive I needed to move ahead on thisnpath on solid grounds. From this juncture, I took the opportunity to create anseries of work titled : ?Bicyclical Journeys? in Beijing which grew outnof my current ?egg series?. In a special way, this experience feels like anfamiliar one, having grown up with numerous friends during my formative yearsnin Jamaica with large numbers of close extended family members who werenChinese. (Jamaica has a large population of third generation Chinese immigrantsnwho are well established since the turn of the 19th century, manynof whom has firmly assimilated, contributing to important economic,npolitical and socio-cultural life of Jamaica and thenCaribbean.) I have gone ahead through this vision and inspirationnto set up studios to work there for the duration, as it?s environment helps tonshape a concept that might lead to the creation of new and more fresh andnunique work . China has been a launching board for my current work to engage innthe greater part of East Asia and the expanded contemporary art scene whichnChina is now a major player as it levels the playing field.
Bryan McFarlane
Beijing, China
August 2018
