“John Dunkley: Neither Day nor Night” and “Daylight Come: Picturing Dunkley’s Jamaica” are on view at the National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston, Jamaica. Both exhibitions close on July 29, 2018.

Description: Originally exhibited at the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) in 2017 and considered to be one of the most exciting shows that year in the United States, “John Dunkley: Neither Day nor Night” showcases a once in a lifetime compilation of the work of renowned Jamaican Intuitive artist, John Dunkley (1891-1947). Born in Savanna-la-Mar, Dunkley was of the generation of Jamaicans who traveled to Panama, Costa Rica and Cuba at the beginning of the 20thCentury seeking opportunities for work and advancement. His moody paintings and whimsical sculptures reflect his life, experiences and views on Jamaica’s fledgling nationalist movement. The National Gallery’s version of the exhibition, which opened on April 29 and closes on July 29, contains important new work not shown at PAMM.

Exploring themes of tourism, immigration and the emergence of cultural nationalism during Dunkley’s lifetime, “Daylight Come…Picturing Dunkley’s Jamaica” acts as a complement to “John Dunkley: Neither Day nor Night.” The exhibition contains rare photographs, artefacts and film footage from the turn of the century leading into the Jamaican Nationalist era and provides further context to Dunkley’s creative output. It explores the work of his contemporaries: David Miller Snr and David Miller Jnr, Carl Abrahams, Albert Huie, David Pottinger, Ralph Campbell, and Henry Daley, among others. [It] shows the move from ethnographic and oftentimes disparaging depictions of Jamaicans, to the attempts at social and cultural empowerment by the aforementioned artists and others of the Jamaican Cultural Nationalist movement of the early 1900s. This exhibition, which opened on May 27, will also be on view until July 29.

For more information, see https://nationalgalleryofjamaica.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/last-sundays-june-24-to-ft-amina-blackwood-meeks-anomaly/