Art At The Ridge has come to the end of this year’s season following another exciting run of art exhibitions featuring a wide range of island artists – some already well-known and some new to the art scene, including a surprise new artist.
In January we featured a trio of young artists – LYLE EVANS, SHEM ALEXANDER and GLENROY AARON. Lyle’s work is influenced by paintings from the Renaissance era, with a modern tropical twist. Glenroy first came to our attention in our 1st Juried Art Competition and he has since also exhibited at the Jumby Bay Art Show and Harmony Hall. Shem entered our 2nd Juried Art Competition and is definitely a name to watch out for with his unique turpentine bark paintings and Antiguan folklore and African-inspired themes.
Art work by Shem Alexander at Art at the Ridge. Shem was the 2010 overall winner of the Wadadli Pen art prize and honourable mention in 2014.
We held two exhibitions in February to include a surprise new artist – NICHOLAS (Nick) HADEED is already well-known on the island as a foremost civil engineer in our building industry. Nick has always had an appreciation for art and his work reflects the European Impressionist Masters in a very contemporary way. February also featured GORDON WEBSTER, who recently returned to live in Antigua. Gordon’s work can be found in private collections worldwide – his style reminds us of Van Gogh, who he admires along with Turner, Monet and Gauguin.
Our artist-in-resident, JANE SEAGULL, was featured in March and showcased her renowned quirky style in both her paintings and papier mache creations. As usual, Jane donated a percentage of her sales to a charitable cause – this year it was St John’s Hospice again. Jane is usually at our shop gallery on Mondays where you can meet her and get a personal tour of her work!
Following a year of illness, we were thrilled with the return of EDISON LIBURD in April. His first show with us was in January 2012 and this one further highlighted his zest for life in expressive style, full of vibrancy and colour.
Other regular events this season included our third annual children’s Christmas card competition, and our Christmas Art & Craft fair featuring unique and gorgeous pieces by LYRIS TRACEY of Island Mantra. The very talented Lyris’ quality creations make beautiful gifts – they are handpainted, handcrafted and limited edition, and can only be found at selected venues as well as at her home studio in Marble Hill.
We were also involved in the 10th annual Wadadli Pen Competition which has a visual arts section for book cover designs – Art At The Ridge owner Joy James was one of the judges here. Throughout the year we are visited by art enthusiasts from all over the world and we were particularly delighted to receive a visit from the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, based in Florida, during their International Cultural Artist Exchange tour of the Caribbean in March.
We now feature over 60 Antiguan artists at our shop gallery based at the stunning location of Sugar Ridge, and new pieces come into our shop gallery all the time – so we’re always worth a visit! We also have a rotating exhibition of paintings opposite at Sugar Club (bar area), where we hold our preview evenings, and our shop gallery continues to stay open throughout the year.
We have some art events coming up during the summer months – so watch this space! If you would like to be on our mailing list for art exhibitions please email ArtAtTheRidge@hotmail.com, and if you would like to be kept updated on our island’s art scene please LIKE and take a look at our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ArtAtTheRidge.
Wadadli Pen 