Untitled (Tropical Plant Series)
By the mid-1980s Hydes’ work demonstrated a shift from geometric to lyrical abstraction, and especially Abstract Expressionism (a non-objective style with an emphasis on capturing the spontaneity of emotion or spirit). This new expressive style began to show in his Tropical Plant Series of 1984-86, which is characterised by bold colours influenced by memories of Cayman. While paintings such as Untitled (1984) employ distinctly Caribbean references in their allusions to tropical vegetation, they are technically referring to European modernist traditions such as Fauvism and Expressionism. Arguably representing his first fully mature statement as an artist, Untitled was one of several paintings selected for a major exhibition of Hydes’ work at the Commonwealth Institute in London in 1986.
About the Artist
Bendel Hydes
1952–2024
Bendel Hydes was universally celebrated as the founding father of Caymanian art, being the first Caymanian to acquire formal fine art training and the first to receive international acclaim for his work, while also helping to cofound both the Cayman National Cultural Foundation and the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands. Hydes studied at Liverpool College of Art and Canterbury College of Art in England and subsequently received his B.A. from Clark University in the United States in 1976.
During the course of his career, he mounted solo exhibitions at the Commonwealth Institute, London and the 23rd International Bienal de Sao Paulo, Brazil, and his work has been featured in numerous publications, including Caribbean Art (Thames and Hudson: 1998) and A-Z of Caribbean Art (Robert & Christopher Publishers: 2019). Hydes’ work was included in two of the most prestigious surveys of Caribbean art of the past three decades: Carib Art (1995-96) and Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture (1995-98), which travelled to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Works by Hydes are held in the collections of the Cayman Islands National Museum and the Cayman Islands National Archive, as well as numerous private collections internationally.
Solo exhibitions at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands include Soundings in Fathoms (2003), Circumnavigating the Globe (2012) and Bendel Hydes- A Retrospective (2019)— the latter a comprehensive survey of the artist’s fifty-year career. Additionally, Hydes work has featured in numerous group exhibitions at NGCI, including: Founded Upon the Seas (2012), Metamorphoses (2014), Upon the Seas (2017), Cross Currents – 1st Cayman Islands Biennial (2019), Tropical Visions (2019), Saltwater in their Veins – A National Gallery Permanent Collection Exhibition (2020), The People’s Collection – A 25-Year Cultural Legacy (2022), The Ties that Bind: A Journey through the National Collection (2022), 81° West: Cartographic Explorations in Contemporary Caymanian Art (2023) and Thatch Roofs & Ironwood Posts: The Art and Artistry of the Caymanian Home (2024).
