Exhibition
As the first Caymanian to study fine art abroad and to acquire international recognition, Bendel Hydes is the undisputed forefather of Caymanian contemporary art. This retrospective traced the artist’s distinguished 45-year career.
Initially a proponent of Realism and Pop Art, by the late 1990s Hydes had moved away from figurative work to a purely abstract visual language that he refers to as “luminescent abstraction”. He employs a vocabulary of semi-figurative, biomorphic shapes and symbols to address issues such as isolation and vulnerability, and the beauty, topography, and character of a given place. Inspiration may come from a sound, a passing vibration, the wind by the ocean or the colour and movement of a particular shape — all experiences that produce new imaginary paradigms. Hydes aims to question the aesthetics of the materials, whether he is applying multiple layers of translucent washes and drips of colour or sculpting and mixing paint with other substances.
“Through painting and other media, I use abstraction to explore the interaction of nature and culture reflecting on both the rational and ritualistic concerns of perceived opposites”, said the artist. “Ultimately, I strive to traverse the boundary between physical abstraction and emotional reality, thus forming the narrative that binds the work together.”
The National Gallery’s Education Department produced fun-filled educational activities in the form of worksheets for all ages to support the exhibition. These educational resources are available through the links below.
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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).
