Carib Carnival

1972 - Painting (Painting)

70.5 x 121 cm

Aubrey Williams


Carib Carnival illustrates Aubrey Willams’s unique artistic language, combining Pre-Columbian iconography with abstraction. A series of abstracted shapes that resemble bones, masks and serpent-like images surrounded by fiery vapors and gases, illustrate the destruction of culture as one of the predominant themes of Williams’s work. He considered the Mayan and Aztec cultures to exemplify a number of present-day faults; according to Williams they developed technologies that would eventually lead to their own destruction. Williams melds a combination of Gorky and German Expressionsim with his West African heritage, painting what he characterized as “the smell of old blood … the smell of the presence of the conquistadors. It’s the smell of loss, and replacement with lesser than what was destroyed. It’s equality coming out of forced change, a displacement of identity, violation and yet new growth asserting itself.” Williams’s work thus looks at the world from a Guyanese perspective with a strong sense of his African heritage, as well as the destructiveness of European culture. Carib Carnival , while perhaps celebrating the frenzy of carnival, brings to the fore the idea of destruction of civilizations, the destruction by civilizations and an African holocaust. It is a bonfire of civilizations out of which something might rise. There is another image hidden within the work, a bound, reclining figure, perhaps a reference to the rapacious behavior of imperial colonizers and the auto-da-fé. Painted the year of Carifesta , the first Pan-African Festival of the Arts that involved Williams, and that of the end of the Caribbean Artists Movement as a group, Carib Carnival invokes the timeline of a gathering for cultural recognition and independent creativity.


Aubrey Williams was one of the founding members of the Caribbean Artists Movement, formed in the 1960s in the United Kingdom, after settling there in the early 1950s. Brought up in Guyana, he attended the Working People’s Art Class (WPAC), the first official art institution in the country. As a trained agronomist, Williams worked in the field with the Warrau tribe during British colonization. The experience of living in the jungle with the Warrau deeply impacted his artistic vocabulary. Arriving in London in 1952 as part of the Windrush generation, Williams went to St Martin’s School of Art and was exposed to the German Expressionists at Marlborough Gallery and the Abstract Expressionists at the Tate and Whitechapel Galleries. While his early exhibitions were greeted with interest, he was soon marginalized by critics and art historians. It was only in 1989, when a series of his works were shown as part of the exhibition The Other Story at the Hayward Gallery that he and his fellow black artists emerged from the shadows of a discriminatory history. Williams is now regarded as one of the most important British artists of his generation. His paintings resonate with his own culture while also engaging with the Western gaze and its terminology of modernism.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

Exhibition Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and The Blue Rider Discover the story of the friendships that made modern art Tate Modern 25 Apr – 20 Oct 2024 £22 / Free for Members
© » TATE EXHIBITIONS

Expressionists | Tate Modern Discover the story of the friendships that made modern art Explore the groundbreaking work of a circle of friends and close collaborators known as The Blue Rider ...

Veteran Artists Team Up with Younger Generation at ‘Wild Eye’ Exhibition (via The Irrawady)
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Veteran Artists Team Up with Younger Generation at ‘Wild Eye’ Exhibition (via The Irrawady) | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles September 12, 2018 YANGON — Veteran modernists and younger generations have teamed up to exhibit their works together in Yangon...

In Pieces
© » LENS CULTURE

In Pieces - Photographs by Sophia Bulgakova, Lia Dostlieva, Ola Lanko, Katia Motyleva and Kateryna Snizhko | Book review by Sophie Wright | LensCulture Feature In Pieces In this imaginative collection of photobooks “made with a child in mind,” five artists of Ukrainian descent explore the everyday heroism of life in wartime...

How to play mahjong and how to win at mahjong: basic rules to get a game started, the suits, winning hands – and what to say to claim your victory
© » SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

How to play mahjong and how to win at mahjong: basic rules to get a game started, the suits, winning hands – and what to say to claim your victory...

Update on Americans for the Arts Events in 2023
© » AMERICANSFORTHEARTS

Update on Americans for the Arts Events in 2023 | Americans for the Arts Jump to Main Content Americans for the Arts Arts Action Fund National Arts Marketing Project pARTnership Movement Animating Democracy Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Load Picture Home News Room Update on Americans for the Arts Events in 2023 Hello Guest | Login Update on Americans for the Arts Events in 2023 Thursday, February 16, 2023 It is an exciting time at Americans for the Arts, full of change and new energy...

Miami Advice: Nina Johnson on the Spear House of North Bayshore Drive
© » THEARTNEWSPER

Miami Advice: Nina Johnson on the Spear House of North Bayshore Drive Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Art Basel in Miami Beach 2023 interview Miami Advice: Nina Johnson on the Spear House of North Bayshore Drive The gallerist says that the pretty-in-pink property exudes the quintessential 1980s South Florida vibe that still resonates today Tim Schneider 7 December 2023 Share Laurinda Spear’s original plan, created with Rem Koolhaas, was rejected by the client: her parents Photo: Elizabeth Whiting Located at 9325 North Bayshore Drive, in the Miami Shores neighbourhood, the Spear House (aka the Pink House) looms large in the cultural imagination of South Florida...

Citydance (Part 2)
© » KADIST

Co-presented with the CCA Wattis, as part of the City of Disappearances exhibition, Kadist presents the conclusion of two evenings of outdoor screenings of eight different video artworks on building exteriors in San Francisco...

Untitled
© » KADIST

Hama Goro

Hama Goro works with a traditional method called the Bogolan technique, which is inspired by a method used in Mali to color clothes...

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: BACC director fired; Kelantan lifts Mak Yong ban
© » ARTS EQUATOR

Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: BACC director fired; Kelantan lifts Mak Yong ban | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Radar Wong Horngyih, courtesy of Pusaka September 25, 2019 ArtsEquator’s Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region...

Leading Collector of Middle Eastern Art to Sell Dozens of Works at Sotheby’s - via ARTnews
© » LARRY'S LIST

Abdulrahman Al Zayani is selling more than 80 works by Middle East artists....

Pablo Picasso Rolls the Dice in Vegas This Weekend
© » ARTMARKETMONITOR

Pablo Picasso Rolls the Dice in Vegas This Weekend Pablo Picasso’s work is a staple of the high-value art market...

William E. Jones
© » KADIST

This interview was directed by Sharon Lerner, Los Angeles 2011...

Georges Rousse — Couleurs
© » SLASH PARIS

Georges Rousse — Couleurs — Galerie Catherine Putman — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook Georges Rousse — Couleurs — Galerie Catherine Putman — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour Georges Rousse — Couleurs Exposition Photographie Georges Rousse, Bilbao, 2023 Impression jet d’encre sur hahnemühle — 145 × 115 cm © D...

More Than Just a Milestone: the National Gallery’s First Show of Contemporary Native American Art in 70 Years
© » ARTNEWS REVIEWS

Review: A Landmark Show of Native American Art at the National Gallery – ARTnews.com Skip to main content By Alex Greenberger Plus Icon Alex Greenberger Senior Editor, ARTnews View All November 17, 2023 8:34am Steven Yazzie, Orchestrating a Blooming Desert , 2003...

Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions
© » SLASH PARIS

Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions — Almine Rech Gallery, Matignon — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions — Almine Rech Gallery, Matignon — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions Exhibition Painting Vue de l’exposition Kim Tschang-Yeul, Disparitions à la galerie Almine Rech, Paris Courtesy of the artist & Galerie Almine Rech, Paris Kim Tschang-Yeul Disparitions Ends in 11 days: November 18 → December 22, 2023 It was twilight when Kim Tschang-Yeul, then aged 42, discovered the droplet while sprinkling water over one of his canvases...

Texas Hold ‘Em: Beyoncé drops two country-tinged singles
© » DAZED DIGITAL

Texas Hold ‘Em: Beyoncé drops two country-tinged singles | Dazed ⬅️ Left Arrow *️⃣ Asterisk ⭐ Star Option Sliders ✉️ Mail Exit Music News The singer announces the second stage of her Renaissance trilogy, and releases a duo of new tracks 12 February 2024 Text Dazed Digital During the Superbowl last night, Beyoncé announced that her new album – Act II – will be released on March 29...

The Substation: How many more canaries in the coal mine?
© » ARTS EQUATOR

The Substation: How many more canaries in the coal mine? | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles February 20, 2021 By Hoe Su Fern Since 1990, The Substation has been the sole occupant of the conserved building at 45 Armenian Street...

How Gagosian's east London Christo show proved the power of the pop-up exhibition
© » THEARTNEWSPER

How Gagosian's east London Christo show proved the power of the pop-up exhibition Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Art market comment How Gagosian's east London Christo show proved the power of the pop-up exhibition Who says something eye-catching and short-term can’t also be serious? Melanie Gerlis 7 December 2023 Share Installation view of Christo's Dolly (1964) at Gagosian Open, 4 Princelet Street, October 2023 © Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation Even as new galleries seem to open faster than ever, there is plenty of movement away from the white cube...

L’art protéiforme de Gerhard Richter essaime en Suisse
© » LE MONDE

L’art protéiforme de Gerhard Richter essaime en Suisse Cet article vous est offert Pour lire gratuitement cet article réservé aux abonnés, connectez-vous Se connecter Vous n'êtes pas inscrit sur Le Monde ? Inscrivez-vous gratuitement Article réservé aux abonnés « Silsersee, Maloja (Lake Sils, Maloja) » (1992), de Gerhard Richter...