Kanuku Transfer
By Alim A. Hosein
In doing the review of Terence Roberts’ exhibition Kaieap, (published in Sunday Stabroek, May 11) I had thought of including Derrick Callendar’s exhibition ‘Kanuku Transfer.’ The two exhibitions opened at the same time (Roberts’ on April 25 and Callendar’s on April 29) and were located in venues only a few hundred yards apart (Roberts’ at the Centre of Brazilian Studies and Callendar’s at Castellani House). But most of all, the works done by these two artists are quite similar in appearance, and even in terms of the concepts of art that give rise to them. In fact, the similarity of their work, and the similarity in their artistic ideals are such that the two artists had exhibited together on a number of occasions in Guyana. Both artists work in a non-figurative, non-narrative mode. That is, there are no recognizable objects in their paintings, and the paintings themselves do not seem to be about any particular topic, nor do they tell any story. Instead, there is the manipulation of colour, which is used to create associations, prompt emotions, and convey their themes. Composition is another important element of their work, in the sense that since there is usually nothing familiar that could be seen on the canvas, it is the arrangements of elements such as areas of colour, texture, and tones, and lines and shapes which hint at what the artist might have in mind, or at what he felt while doing the work. The work of these artists is different from that of most artists working in Guyana today. One other important characteristic they share is that both men have had significant exposure to European art, and have worked as artists abroad.
But there are differences between these artists. Roberts is the more consciously avant-gardist of the two. He is more consciously focused on the location of his kind of art within the tradition of western art and in Guyanese art, and he more consciously tries to remain true to the purest form of this kind of art. He is also more involved in promoting this kind of approach to art and culture generally.
Callendar is a more private artist, but he is also the more expressive. He is less public about the nature of his art and its tradition, but in his work, there is more expression of feeling. Secondly, Callendar’s work shows a wide range of themes. Thirdly, Callender is less of a pure avant-garde artist and more of an expressive artist. It is significant that he is also involved in jazz, which is a modern form of music that is evocative, non-narrative and which also makes use of associations and variations of textures in a fluid, personal manner. In fact, the opening of his exhibition was accompanied by a jazz rock recital featuring Callendar and his friends. The title of his exhibition also immediately calls to mind jazz music and indeed the titles of some jazz compositions.
