Past Exhibitions
SOLARIS
09/19/2024-10/20/2024
Welcome aboard our space station, where art and astronomy unite in a breathtaking journey. Each artwork is not just a representation of the universe; it is a deeply personal exploration of the vast unknown by the artist. These pieces serve as portals, inviting you to transcend the familiar and immerse yourself in the awe and wonder of space as envisioned by each creator.
In this unique exhibition, "We Sent Our Artists to Space," the cosmos becomes a canvas. Inspired by their cultural heritage, the artists transform the enormity of the universe into grounded expressions that resonate with our earthly experiences. Each creation reflects their interpretations of the cosmos and nebulae, capturing what space means to them.
We transformed the gallery into a space shuttle, embarking on an imaginative journey where creativity knows no bounds. Here, each artwork resonates with the infinite possibilities of the universe.
Resilient
04/18/2024-06/15/2024
We are delighted to invite you to the opening of 'Resilient' a solo exhibition by Antonius Roberts. In this exhibition, Roberts will unveil sculptures made with found and felled silk-cotton, madeira, logwood, lignum vitae and woman’s-tongue. He carves into the trees or logs to find and draw-out figurative characteristics and then uses the dust and remnants created through the activity of carving to create large-scale, expressive drawings.
AS WE ARE
02/29/2024-04/02/2024
The D'Aguilar Art Foundation proudly presents As We Are, a compelling street photography exhibition curated to showcase the collective spirit from diverse walks of life in Nassau, The Bahamas. Featuring a blend of professional photographers, hobbyists, and community members, this exhibition serves as a poignant reminder of our shared humanity and the intrinsic connections that bind us together. Through the lens of each contributor, As We Are offers a glimpse into the movements through the landscapes we inhabit and the people, animals and things that we encounter.
The exhibition boasts a breadth of perspectives- some artists photographing similar spaces from completely different angles and others finding unique and personal moments within the public spaces of our shared island.
As you traverse the exhibition space, you may encounter scenes that resonate with your own lived experiences or glimpse the very different lives lead on such a small island. We invite you to embark on a journey of exploration, discovering the familiar and the unfamiliar within the landscapes we call home.
20/20 a solo exhibition by Elkino Dames
09/21/2023-10/19/2023
We are delighted to announce Elkino Dames’ first solo exhibition at The D’Aguilar Art Foundation. Entitled 20/20, Dames recalls 20 years ago, when he was just 20 years old, and Vincent D’Aguilar purchased five of his formative artworks. That same year, Dames made the bold decision to become a professional artist. 20/20 also references the privilege of hindsight, as the exhibition will provide the audience and artist the opportunity to see new and old artworks hanging together: paintings made in 2023 alongside works from 2003 acquired by the D’Aguilar Art Collection.
GAZE
06/29/2023-07/27/2023
‘Gaze’ features the artwork of Melissa Alcena, Delton Barrett, Theo
McClain, Clavia McClain, and Blair Meadows. This group photography and
video exhibition was produced by guest curator, Ivanna Gaitor after she
applied for our open-call entitled “curator opportunity” in 2022. Gaitor
was awarded the curatorial prize as a result of her outstanding
submission essay, about the challenges of the “tourist gaze” and
artists/artworks that have transcended it.
i know a river by Matthew David Rahming
06/01/2023-06/20/2023
Matthew David Rahming is an emerging interdisciplinary artist, born in Nassau in 1997.
Having graduated from St. Augustine's College in 2014, he then majored in art at the University of the Bahamas. In 2017, he held his first solo exhibition "TUFF" at the University's Pro Gallery. In 2022, Rahming’s work was chosen to exhibit in the NE10 at The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. This is his first solo exhibition.
Rahming considers himself an expressionist whose process is heavily rooted in introspection and observation. Spiritual undercurrents in particular permeate this opus, a fact alluded to in many of the works’ titles.
His current practice is focused around paintings and drawings rendered predominantly in acrylic paint and charcoal and his latest body of work, which forms the emphasis of the current exhibition, focuses on sculptures and vessels fashioned from cement. With their textured/ragged/fossilferous surfaces, these works evoke a sense of the natural landscape in which they were created; made outside in his mother’s yard, this external context was integral to the artist in framing their conception. The use of cement, a material seemingly incompatible with the objects it embodies, serves as a reminder of the imperfect nature of things and their ultimate decay.
When the Bread They Have Cast on the Waters Comes Floating Back: Gordon Shadrach & Kachelle Knowles
03/23/2023-04/27/2023
When the Bread They Have Cast on the Waters Comes Floating Back: Gordon Shadrach & Kachelle Knowles
Written by Byron Armstrong
“People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.”
You Gotta See What it is Yer Lookin
07/07/2022-03/10/2023
In the middle of June a lady stopped by the DAF to look at some art. Now, this wasn’t unprecedented: we are a gallery, and we love giving people a view of what we have on display and in our collection. However, what was so special about this encounter is that she was looking for a particular painting that Stan Burnside painted of her many years ago.
SALT AND EARTH: Shacqeel Coleby, Dyah Neilson and Omar Williams
04/28/2022-06/16/2022
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation is delighted to present Salt and Earth, a collaborative exhibition featuring Shacqeel Coleby, Dyah Neilson and Omar Williams. The
exhibition brings together artists that use symbols from The Bahamian
landscape to reveal intricate stories about self, Bahamian lore and
spirit.
ROLAND ROSE: TIMELESS
02/25/2022-04/22/2022
The D'Aguilar Art Foundation is proud to present a selection of Roland Rose photographs in a new exhibition, TIMELESS. After his passing in 2021, Rose's works will be released in curated batches each year. TIMELESS showcases the selection of both 2021 and 2022.
BELLA ITALIA by Sue Katz
12/02/2021-02/07/2022
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation is excited to present Bella Italia, a new collection of collage and mixed media paintings by Sue Katz that reflect on her travels to Italy. For about 7 years, Katz travelled back and forth between there and The Bahamas, taking inspiration from the vibrant landscapes and people. The result is a breathtaking series of artwork that departs from her usual collage work about Bahamian social politics and focuses on her picturesque encounters with the Italian culture.
WADING IN THE SHALLOWS/ PLUNGING IN THE DEEP by JOHN PAUL SADDLETON
06/22/2021-08/20/2021
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation is delighted to present a solo exhibition of paintings by John Paul Saddleton. Entitled Wading in the Shallows/Plunging in The Deep, this selection of work focuses on John Paul’s studies of water: coastal views and underwater landscapes.
Preserving Our Coral Reefs: Artwork made by the students of Uriah McPhee
05/20/2021-06/17/2021
We
are delighted to invite you to our new exhibition 'Preserving Our Coral
Reefs', featuring artwork made by the students of Uriah McPhee. In
response to a school-wide project exploring ocean conservation, imagined by
science-coordinator, Mrs. Shaphell Knowles, students from kindergarten
to sixth grade made beautiful sculptures depicting underwater
landscapes.
CONTACT TRACE by Angelika Wallace-Whitfield
04/20/2021-05/17/2021
We are delighted to announce the opening of CONTACT TRACE, a solo exhibition by Angelika Wallace Whitfield.
Wallace-Whitfield presents a series of paintings and drawings made during the Covid19 lockdowns. The work is a continuation of her interest in the female figure, in femininity and strength, but as the title suggests this body of work also focuses on contact and connection. Wallace-Whitfield describes in her own words how the illustration of connection between bodies was an exploration of what she experienced and questioned during the past year in the pandemic:
"As media coverage on COVID-19 increased, so did my knowledge on how the virus spreads. The way it travels from one human or object to the next, unknowingly, without intention. Human interaction becomes a vehicle. COVID-19 made me question the ways in which we impact everyone we are in contact with, physically, mentally, emotionally, in formative and reformative ways.
Between Earth and Heaven
02/09/2021-04/06/2021
The vivid imagery from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s epic poem, “Ulysses”, provides inspiration for Between Earth and Heaven, a new exhibit now open at the D’Aguilar Art Foundation, featuring 28 works from our permanent collection.
Anywhere But Here
11/02/2020-01/10/2021
A small selection of the rarely-seen international artworks within the D'Aguilar Art Foundation collection.
A Burning for Home
09/01/2020-10/30/2020
We are delighted to present our current exhibition digitally at www.burningforhome.com. You can also follow The D'Aguilar Art Foundation on Instagram and Facebook for content on the exhibition. Please email us at daf_art_events@yahoo.com if you would like to see the exhibition in person.
The Architecture of Community by Nastassia Pratt
02/06/2020-03/17/2020
It is a particularly apt time to view Pratt's meticulous watercolor and assemblages of Bahamian homes. Having just endured Hurricane Dorian and witnessed homes fracture or disappear, the future of our architectural design seems undetermined. Pratt's work offers an historical perspective by depicting the exterior of some of the oldest buildings in Nassau and the out-islands. One of the things that draws the artist to document these specific spaces is that they were built with community in mind:
"The aesthetic of these kinds of homes is a dying one and I hope to celebrate them. By nature of how these buildings are designed they encourage community and I hope to continue highlighting these neighborhoods and homes to encourage Bahamians to look back to our architectural history for its common-sense approach to community living and planning.
Two Centuries of Smith
11/26/2019-01/23/2020
K Smith has always been drawn to architecture as subjects
for his drawings. All of the drawings he completed in Canada between
1977 and 1987 are architectural graphite drawings of prairie family
homes, one room country schools, as well as historic commerical
buidlings. Smith's images allow us to reminice about the buildings and landmarks that no longer exist or that have been altered over time.
Caroline Grace Lodington, the great great grandmother of K Smith, was also an artist like her husband, Edward William Smith, the great great grandfather of K Smith. Caroline Grace Lodington's India ink drawing of Bishops College near Calcutta was created in 1823, only three years after the college was erected.
These two drawings completed 171 years hang side-by-side and reveal an inherited
interest and skill within photo-realism. Two Centuries of Smith 1819-2019 reads like a family archive that we can unpack through beautiful and considered drawings.
tingsy by Kendra Forup
10/09/2019-11/14/2019
A Bahamian artist that lives and works in Tampa, Florida, Kendra Frorup works primarily in sculpture and print-making. She is inspired by her sensory memories of home, The Bahamas, and refers to these familiar sounds, tastes and smells within her works. Tamarind fruit cast in bronze, resin sugar-apples and ceramic coconuts are layered on top of screen-prints and mono-prints of roosters, chickens, straw-baskets and local architecture. Each work can be compared to the experience of walking down a busy side-street in Nassau or an out-island; the artwork is an assemblage of this sensory experience into a physical object.
RED RAIN
06/12/2019-09/24/2019
RED RAIN is a selection of paintings from the collection, bringing together artworks from different decades, countries and of course artists to hang side-by-side. This exhibition gives an intimate view into the journey of a collector and is a visual feast!
A Garden: a Party and Art Market
05/23/2019-06/05/2019
The D'Aguilar Art Foundation is delighted to host a fundraising party and art market. The proceeds of which will assist our incredible colleague, Letitia Pratt, to attend School of Art Institute of Chicago to study for her MFA in writing.
The exhibition will act like an art-market featuring artworks to purchase by Rashad Adderly, Melissa Alcena, Delton Barrett, Richardo Barrett, Margot Bethel, Nadia Campbell, June Collie, John Cox, Sonia Farmer, Blake Fox, Kendal Hanna, Lynn Parotti, Alessandro Sarno, Heino Schmid, Natascha Vazquez, Allan Wallace, Natalie Willis, Sofia Whitehead, Tessa Whitehead.
The Likeness of Being: A Transforming Spaces Exhibition
03/29/2019-05/16/2019
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation is pleased to present ‘The Likeness of Being’, an exhibition featuring the portraiture of five Bahamian artists: Keith Thompson, Kachelle Knowles, Gio Swaby, Spurgeonique Morley, and Allan Wallace. Each of their works explores the themes of preserving the body – specifically the black body – as it navigates the natural and social environments around them.
These deeply personal works all explore the artists’ individual experiences - whether it be in the Bahamian environment as a black man from a particular part of Nassau, or the Canadian environment as a black Bahamian woman – and celebrates the self in response to the people and places around them. Incorporating realism and folklore, these works present the artist’s different perspectives of self, and the unique and vibrant ways they view their individuality.
TIME UNDER TENSION
02/07/2019-03/18/2019
A phrase used during fitness training, ‘Time Under Tension’ refers to how long a muscle is under strain during a set – referencing the stress through the mounting pain that the muscles endure to strengthen and lengthen. Lynn Parotti’s exhibition of the same name uses this phrase to bring to light the constant pressure that coral reefs endure as a result of the compounding impact of our human footprint and subsequent effects of global warming. The metaphor continues as ‘time’ is of paramount importance to the warming seas’ effect on coral.
Overwhelmed: A Solo Exhibition by Jordanna Kelly
12/06/2018-01/26/2019
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation presents OVERWHELMED, a solo exhibition by Jordanna Kelly. Kelly transforms the gallery space into an immersive installation, weaving painting-assemblages together with trails of hundreds of painted paper dots. As in Kelly's last solo exhibition, Bugs, Blessings & Barriers, she uses the intricate paper pieces as individual works and also assembles and layers them to build the larger installations. The repetition and layering creates a landscape that appears both macro and micro; resembling terrariums, looking through a microscope or something more universal. Kelly's says of the works, “I wanted to create these environments – these little worlds – to be all-enrapturing, so when the viewer looks at the work, they are mesmerized by the many things that are going on. I want their eyes to bounce from patterns, to levels, to layers.”
'pARTicipate!' : An Interactive Exhibition
09/17/2018-11/13/2018
Including the work of Margot Bethel, June Collie, John Cox, Kendra Frorup and Natascha Vazquez, this exhibition brings together interactive artworks that are intended to inspire our younger visitors.
The show features five prominent Bahamian artists: June Collie, John Cox, Kendra Frorup, Natascha Vazquez and Margot Bethel. Each artist created a piece of interactive artwork surrounding themes of play, folklore, and storytelling. Each piece displayed will encourage the viewer to participate physically with the artwork and become a part of the piece’s story.
Nurture by Delton Barrett
06/28/2018-07/27/2018
Delton Barrett's Imagined Landscape: Photographer Finds New Self in Solitude
Letitia Pratt Interviews Delton Barrett
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation’s new exhibition, “Nurture,” is the product of the most recent experiment of Delton Barrett, an emerging photographer. Hailing from the south of New Providence, Barrett’s preoccupation with creating digitally enhanced, innovative photographic stories has become the catalyst for the experimentation in his work. He often stages scenes within the environment in surreal, fantastic ways, intending to investigate the way his body blends with the space he inhabits. The images that grow out of these explorations are playful renditions of the environment that surrounds him, ultimately communicating a deep connection between his body and the natural world.
MUSE: Malone, Pachino and the Complexity of Inspiration
03/08/2018-05/15/2018
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation is delighted to announce that we are taking part in Transforming Spaces weekend on March 17th & 18th, 2018. We will exhibit new paintings by contemporary Bahamian artist Allan Pachino Wallace alongside a selection of works by the late Brent Malone in an exhibition entitled ‘MUSE’.
For this exhibition, Pachino will respond to specific paintings by Malone to highlight the practice of working from the figure as muse over the past half-century in The Bahamas: from the 1960’s to present day.
wait. I saw something
02/08/2018-03/07/2018
I visited Schmid’s studio late on a Thursday so that he could tell me these stories. He eventually presents me with a parable. “Honor the small things,” He says this carefully, choosing words with calculated reverence. “If you honor those smaller things, good things will come out of your work. Your life.”
I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY: Works from the Collection
11/27/2017-02/05/2018
The D'Aguilar Art Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of 'I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY', an exhibition featuring some of the most conversational pieces from our collection.
Diversions
09/07/2017-11/07/2017
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation is delighted to announce the opening of 'Diversions', an exhibition of the photography by emerging artists Melissa Alcena, Alessandro Sarno and Sofia Whitehead. Diversions features three series of works that explore the spaces outside the demands of daily life in The Bahamas.
The Art of Losing
04/07/2017-06/06/2017
'The Art of Losing' examines how we understand loss, through a carefully curated selection of paintings by Bahamian artists.
This is Yours, That is Mine
01/24/2017-02/23/2017
The D'Aguilar Art Foundation is pleased to present 'This is Yours, That is Mine', a presentation of new works by Jeffrey Meris and Tessa Whitehead. Both artists examine fragments of the landscape as a record of the ruins of history and a demonstration of desire, power and surrender. Meris exhibits drawings and sculptures that examine the literal and physical street as a binding space for black culture and a stage for trauma. Whitehead's paintings and objects of unkept landscapes are an inquiry into failure and surrender.
NOMAD of the Golden Hour
08/18/2016-12/22/2016
American-born photographer, Greg Pesik, has for the last three decades recorded his extensive global travels through his camera lens. Reflecting a fascination with the solace of the morning and the evening, Pesik captures dimming and glowing light enveloping architecture, landscapes and cityscapes.
THE NEIGHBOURHOODS: new prints, timeless visions by Maxwell Taylor
04/21/2016-06/10/2016
The D'Aguilar Art Foundation proudly presents a solo exhibition by Maxwell Taylor, in which richly orchestrated prints pay homage to family, nurturing matriarchs and the ceremonies of a happy home.
Jammin IV
03/10/2016-04/20/2016
The D’Aguilar Art Foundation is pleased to announce the fourth collaborative exhibition for Jammin, by renowned artists John Beadle, Stan Burnside and Antonius Roberts. Jammin IV features a series of paintings made by the collaborators throughout 2015, a continued effort that began in 1985, when Jackson Burnside and Stan Burnside worked together to create a sculptural painting titled, Faces. Stan describes the piece as a continuation of their work with junkanoo, he says "it was our attempt to take the process, the Junkanoo collaborative process into the painting studio."
A Not So Still Life
02/04/2016-03/02/2016
A selection of paintings from The D'Aguilar Art Foundation and Dawn Davies Collection that examine the symbolic and practical function of objects and stillness within contemporary painting.
Headlines
11/19/2015-01/19/2016
The exhibition features a new body of paintings in which Dave Smith continues his exploration of perspective and power. These paintings are an intriguing combination of old and new media and subject matter.
Where the Wild Things Are
09/24/2015-11/05/2015
Inspired by "Where The Wild Things Are" a popular and beautifully illustrated children's story by Maurice Sendak, this exhibition explores the wild and scary creatures of our imaginations, and the dark and foreboding places where they might be found.
Flourish
08/27/2015-09/03/2015
Flourish brings together three disparate developing practices to explore the ways in which contemporary Bahamian artists create layers and connections in their work through travel, exposure and education.
Balance/Reflection John Cox/Dawn Davies
05/21/2015-08/11/2015
For John Cox, balance is not so much a goal as a constant exercise in conscious creativity. Engaging the lifecycle of balance—struggle, transcendence, and acceptance—he often manifests in his artwork a sense of a spiritual journey. His sculptural chairs and tables, emblematic objects, images of struggle, love or desire offer reflections of our own cycles.
Haitianary
03/20/2015-05/19/2015
Jeffrey Meris, Bernard Petit, Jackson Petit and Allan Wallace work together to address Haitian-Bahamian contemporary culture. A giant and controversial issue, each artist draws from personal experience and practices to create wonderfully complex responses to dislocation, identity and place. The exhibition will feature installation and video work and will be supported by key Haitian paintings from our own collection.
Self-Consciousness
01/29/2015-03/09/2015
All of this work was made after the official end of Modernism, which was the 1960's. But trends move slowly to The Caribbean and our landscape has not dictated a shift into Post-Modernism just yet.
Partly Cloudy with a Chance of...
10/02/2014-11/30/2014
Within and from the time of National Independence, these artists have re-presented and re-examined the utopian images that were our identity, and deepened our understanding of the complex and traumatic relationship between identity and landscape. These works articulate our desire to have a space to call our own.
Submerged
03/21/2014-03/23/2014
'Submerged' is an exhibition of work that quite literally envelopes the entire D'Aguilar Art Foundation's property. Our vision was to allow the artists' works to move the way water moves. Not only have we comfortably filled the gallery space, we have strategically involved the building's exterior spaces as well.
Brigidy Bram: The Kendal Hanna Story
01/16/2014-02/28/2014
“Brigidy bram” is a figure of speech that Hanna has coined in his unique vernacular, a tribute to the interconnection of seemingly unrelated events.
Alistair Stevenson: The Growth Series
08/15/2013-11/12/2013
Growing up on Long Island and being constantly surrounded by nature, there is no wonder that within the pieces is it evident that nature has had a tremendous influence on Stevenson.
Roland Rose: Bahamaland
07/09/2013-08/08/2013
Roland Rose came to the Bahamas in 1946, and took up photography as a hobby at the age of thirteen. In 1952 he joined the Bahamas Development Board, later to become the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, as a professional photographer
Disrobed
03/14/2013-06/11/2013
“Figures with no clothes are peculiarly common in the art of the Western world. This situation might seem perfectly natural when one considers how frequent the state of undress is in everyday human life, from birth to the bath to the boudoir." - Jean Sorabella
Fix Ya Face
11/22/2012-01/17/2013
“Fix Ya Face!” addresses the many ways in which Bahamian and a few international artists alike have defined the face in art. It is an exploration of imagination and process, a display of influence, thought and preservation of the ideals of beauty held by the few artists we have represented in this exhibition.
Bahamian Icons: Past, Present and Future
03/29/2012-04/17/2012
Yet the collection is as much about the collector as about the art itself. Underneath each piece lies a tale about its addition to the collection, imbuing the exhibition with a tone of poignancy. John Beadle's "Conjure Woman" may be the most recognizable and requested piece from the collection, but in this exhibition, viewers can discover the deeply personal and amusing reason behind its purchase by the newlywed Vincent D'Aguilar.
Chantal Bethel: Poto Mitan
01/12/2012-02/14/2012
In times of devastation it is cathartic to have access to a space to reflect on loss. This is a place where people of all faiths and social echelons can congregate to begin the process of healing. Chantal Bethel’s Poto Mitan is this place for meditation and prayer.
The F Factor
11/03/2011-01/10/2012
In 1971, art historian Linda Nochlin’s essay in ARTnews asked, “Why have there been no great women artists?” Decades later, why are we as artists, critics, curators and patrons still asking this provocative and admittedly offensive question? A fair and overdue question to ask in our community would be, “Who are the female artists that have made an impact and contributed to the success of the Bahamian fine arts movement?”
In Celebration of Jackson L. Burnside III
06/09/2011-08/11/2011
At no time in a curatorial calling does one wish to install an exhibition in memoriam of an artist whom one knew, admired and respected. Unfortunately (but in some manner just as fortunate), as life would have it, this must be done because we do admire and respect the artist. We recognize the tremendous gift that the artist has bestowed while creating his work and their willingness to impart their experience should anyone want to learn. With some artists we understand that sometimes it is simply rewarding enough to be in their company and listen.
Antonius Roberts: Faces of Familiar Strangers
03/24/2011-04/21/2011
“Antonius Roberts’ canvasses represent portraits of human emotion and condition. The viewer’s initial response is to the impact of his powerful images of men and women; slightly enlarged heads filling the canvas amplifies the immediacy of human expression. The artist’s portraits are forceful and yet poignant commentaries on Caribbean society.”
A Great Eye: A Love Story Between a Collector and his Acquisitions
02/10/2011-03/24/2011
“To buy a work you have no emotional connection to, is truly money down the drain; because whenever you look at it, whatever you paid for it, you have to feel connected to it.”
Haitian Works from The D'Aguilar Collection
01/12/2011-02/01/2011
Vincent collected over 50 artworks by Haitian artists.
Artists of The Bahamas
11/08/2010-12/10/2010
"This wasn't Paris or London or New York, we were astounded by the skill, diversity & eloquence of these extraordinary Bahamian artists, and felt honored to preserve them & their art on film."
Blessed Mamas
09/02/2010-10/30/2010
Contemporary Bahamian artists have likewise embraced the mother as a popular subject, painting serene Madonnas with a glowing halos, goddesses with powerful reproductive powers, new mothers struggling with pregnancy or sickly newborn infants, loving mothers nurturing babies on the breast, and proud, selfless women tackling the grueling work of providing for their families.