Various Small Fires is pleased to present Che Lovelace: From the Edge of the Rock, the artist’s (b. 1969, San Fernando, Trinidad) second solo exhibition in the United States and his first exhibition at VSF.
Lovelace’s vibrantly-colored paintings are rooted in the flora, fauna, and culture of the artist’s native Trinidad, where he lives and works. Lovelace’s work centrally occupies itself with what the artist calls a “lyricism of place.” These paintings depict Lovelace’s colorful vision of Trinidad and the artist’s lived experience, each painting offering a brief glimpse of Lovelace’s own “encounters,” alternatively spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical, with his home country— the center, as the artist describes, from which he views the world.
Some of these works offer literal examples of the artist’s point of view: View with Front Door, for instance, directly images the lush palm trees outside the window of Lovelace’s studio located on an old US army base in the outskirts of Port of Spain. Meanwhile, a number of the artists’ other works on view at VSF, such as Mas and Emerald and Sun Dancers, feature Carnival-inspired dancers, part of the annual Trinidadian celebration known for its colorful as well as more shadowy costumed portrayals. “Mas,” for instance, is a term commonly used to describe costume; the word is derived from the Trinidadian expression “playing mas,” or “masquerading.”
Lovelace himself has been an active participant in the Carnival for most of his adult life, most notably in the ‘Blue Devil’ masquerade, a traditional Carnival character that is performed by small groups (or ‘bands,’ as they are known in Trinidad). For paintings like Mas and many of his other works, the artist uses his own movements, recorded using serial photographs and video. Lovelace’s paintings are partially developed using this material.
