Trio exhibits at Horizons Art Gallery

Horizons Art Gallery will host a talented trio of women this September, it said in a release, with surreal sculptures by Maria Diaz, floral studies by Gaby Beston Edwards, and abstracts from Janine Laronde Andrew.

Revelling in the cathartic experience of working with clay, Diaz uses her practice as a means of making sense of her environment. She has a love of the human figure which she manipulates to create surreal sculptures which explore topics such as gender, mortality and the human psyche.

Diaz nurtured her love for art at Bishop Anstey High School East, and later at UWI, where she graduated in 2017 with honours in the BA visual arts programme. During her time at university she was awarded the Canada-Caricom Leadership Scholarship, allowing her to spend a year as an exchange student at the University of Calgary.

Since 2019 Diaz has been exhibiting her work with Horizons Art Gallery, and her work has entered several prominent national collections. This year she achieved the honour of creating and unveiling the largest monument in East Port of Spain in collaboration with artist Sherlann Peters, commissioned by the Emancipation Support Committee.

Beston Edwards is a Venezuelan-born Trinidadian artist. Her schooling began in the heart of Port of Spain and took her across the Atlantic to the south of England and to New Orleans. On returning home in 2004, Beston Edwards immediately began exhibiting, and has had over six solo exhibitions and participated in several group shows.

Her work pays homage to the vibrant technicolour life at the heart of living in the Caribbean. Every piece is a jewel box of colour and depth, welcoming the viewer into a more profound relationship with themselves and the natural world. Through botanical exploration in both a realistic and abstract style, the viewer is immersed in an experience of nature. Her South American roots lend a mystical air to how she sees the world around her. Beston Edwards’s work is a welcome reminder of gratitude and appreciation for the stunning landscapes of the Caribbean.

Laronde Andrew has been painting on and off in realistic watercolour, acrylic and mixed media for many years, with her first solo exhibition in 2002, and seven more under her belt since then.

This year’s is unlike any other of Laronde Andrew’s exhibitions, as she challenged herself with an abstract painting style. This interest began after a close friend commissioned her to complete two abstract paintings. New and exciting, abstract art brought with it a new learning experience and she wanted to explore it further. This body of work is different, colourful and playful, each piece connected to another.

The exhibition can be attended either in person or virtually on September 6. Those wishing to attend the virtual opening can do so from 5.30 pm via the link: https://www.facebook.com/Horizonsarttrinidad/

The online show will be broadcast live, with the artists in attendance, so viewers are encouraged to interact and join the chat.

Art lovers may alternatively attend the opening in person from 6.30-8 pm at Horizons Art Gallery, 37 Mucurapo Road, St James Current health protocols will be in place.

This exhibition can also be viewed in the gallery until September 17, from 8.30 am-5 pm Mondays-Fridays, and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.

For further details call 628-9769.