Women in Art at The Gallery

I admit I agonised over four abstract pieces by Mary Adam who is exploring a new direction that, no doubt surprised those who appreciate her exquisite still life paintings of ordinary, everyday vegetables. We have featured the recent works of Fraulein Rudder and Leona Fabien in Newsday in the past month or two. Paintings of landscapes, seascapes and flowers dominate the show. With one exception, I have chosen other subjects, hoping they will encourage readers to visit this varied exhibition of affordable works — there could be some real bargains here for the discriminating art collector.

Michelle Tappin’s study of “Old Charlotte” is a dramatic portrait of the rapidly vanishing past, the old buildings, part shop, part home, in Port-of-Spain. Jennifer Mofford-Job is a name to add to my ever-growing database; her still life “Bottled” entertains and intrigues, one leaves it to speak for itself.

“Bitter Harvest I” earned Ann Stapleton the Challenge Trophy for this arresting painting of a canefield at harvest time. “La Vega Blues” by Gillian Creese caught and held my attention, probably because I’m partial to the impressionists and the near-monochrome gives one a different slant on this landscape. Kathy Farabi’s “Mangrove Ballet” is bursting with life, it takes an artist to see dancers ‘en pointe’ in a mangrove swamp — and it works!

There are echoes of a ballet movement in Ayodele Roseman’s “African Mask” with its Medusa-like locks, the enigmatic figure in lilac at right, the devil mask at left.

Finally, Judith Shaw’s “Maracas I” is the one and only seascape, small, unpretentious, and as pleasing as many other landscapes and seascapes in this exhibition.

Take time to visit The Gallery at Fine Art to see the works of our women artists before the exhibition closes on Friday, October 5.