John shows Superlust at Pop-In

Visual artist Curtis John is showing his Superlust 2020-2021 at the Pop-in The Gallery. The exhibition features paintings of personalities and also highlights issues such as the pandemic and cricket, among others.

John said the exhibition's title was borne out of his trying to be as honest as possible in what he does and the "lust" in which he pursues his work. He explained that he becomes so entangled with the particular piece which he is creating that he gets lustful in an obsessive way with the painting: "I need to put everything in here."

In a media release he said, "Lust is a strong craving for sex, it can also mean a hunger for anything, like lust for power. While lust isn’t a dirty word, it is a strong word. You don’t have lust for something you don’t really care about."

The founder of Pop-In art gallery said he has been painting for all his life. "I have been making money since I was a boy painting and drawing," he said in an interview with Newsday

His parents encouraged him to pursue his talent after observing a particular portrait he drew at age five of then prime minister Dr Eric Williams. They helped him to master his art by giving him a lot of pencils and paper and he would sit and draw for hours.

"I believed this was my calling, like a gift," John said. His work is also inspired by local music and other genres which he listens to when painting a particular subject or artistes.

He said his Pop-In The Gallery is the embodiment of him as an artist and what he is trying to do through art, which also includes helping other artists to hold their own.

Superlust exhibition comprises paintings of local and international figures, including Nina Simone and Bob Marley, West Indies cricket, and issues such as the covid19 virus, the lockdown, political bits and pieces and also "the empowerment or lack of empowerment (on how) we choose to showcase our women."

John said, "The exhibition is really a tribute in honour of, but not what the person stood for, but what they harnessed in their life to have them continuing on that part ...to obtain that level of success. Their drive is being applauded."

The exhibition is ongoing at the gallery at 19 Stanmore Avenue, Port-of-Spain.