Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Artist Che Lovelace said his upcoming exhibition is a sharing of the work he has recently created with the T&T public before he exhibits the collection in New York, as he expects most of it will not come back.

Lovelace said he’s been working with a gallery in New York, which he said is the easiest place for Caribbean artists to get to “a large art centre where a lot of art is being produced and culture is being generated. I’ve always gone there and I guess, through the people who I’ve met over the years and people who’ve been interested in my work, eventually the time comes when people think that the work might be ready, might make an impact there.”
He said his idea of an art career has always been one that goes beyond these shores. “I’ve always tried to create and sustain links outside of Trinidad because it puts your art in a larger context and I think every artist would want that for themselves, whether you’re a writer, visual artist, film-maker, etc., you want the largest possible audience for your work. However, it’s not just about shipping the work off somewhere, I think it’s important to have a dialogue with the community, hence the reason even if I’m doing something outside of this country, I would always make an effort to show the work here in this context, to be part of this dialogue, as well as a dialogue outside of here. So it’s really about having a more expansive way of thinking about it, rather than, I’m making this and this is where the story ends. So I am happy for it to be shown here and I would be very happy for it to have an audience outside of here and hopefully gain some momentum as it moves into the US and hopefully beyond.”
The artist said the collection continues with themes he has explored over the past decade, including the body, movement and dance, and also contains paintings exploring still-lifes and landscapes, which he has recently become interested in. “I have been getting more interested in landscape and utilizing the studio as a subject which is something that I did not really do in a very direct way before this.”
“As much as six or seven years ago, I started photographing my own body or other people’s bodies in movement and using that as a subject. I tried to put myself inside of that situation psychically and actually act out or to immerse myself in a particular movement or character, mostly movements and shapes. Generally I’m looking for fresh, new ways of representing the bodies, it’s important for me to see where it comes from and it’s actually a reference to the human body in a way, so I’ve been doing things like that.”
His work is inspired by his experience living in Trinidad. “Trinidad is an extremely visual place, it’s a place with strong light, amazing and interesting colours and colour combinations. If you drive past a village or a town or you go into the urban city centre, there’s always interesting combinations of colours. How people paint their shops, their houses, how they dress, the colours they use. There’s always so much to see, it’s a constant stream of information that hits you when you’re in Trinidad so as a painter, there’s a lot to feed off of, and I’m a very visual person.”
Lovelace focuses on several themes; the human body in movement while also increasingly showing interest in compositions that include landscape and still life. His work brings to light his keen appetite for the craft of painting. He often speaks of painting as a language, one which must be shaped and one which must evolve. Using thick colorful layers of encrusted pigment as well as thin washes of a delicate transparency, Lovelace brings his Trinidad and Tobago inspired scenes alive.
Lovelace said his focus for the exhibition is to share the works with people as he hopes they will be sold in New York. “I also lecture at UWI St. Augustine, so I’m happy to be able to have something up that my students can take a look at, because I don’t exhibit very often. It’s a way to share with people who know that I’m always painting, who know I’m very passionate about this thing, it’s my life and everything. I’m a little bit reserved at showing it at the drop of a hat, I wait for the right moments and I think this moment definitely felt right to show this body of work.”