The gifts of the pandemic.

Having exhibited at Gallery of Caribbean art just about every two years since its inception. Susan Mains wasn’t going to let a little thing like a world-wide pandemic stop her from a regular appearance.

A Caribbean person with historic roots in Barbados, (think 1648) her artistic history encompasses Dominica, Barbados, and Grenada.   Her island home in Grenada is no stranger to conflict — worker riots in the 50’s, a rocky 1974 independence from Great Britain, a fiery revolution and invasion by a super power in the late 70’ early 80’s, a devastating Hurricane Ivan in 2004 that destroyed her home and studio, and now, this pandemic that froze us all in time for almost two years.  

The response to all this? Art takes centre stage.  In her quiet studio in St Paul’s Grenada, she has been assembling a body of work that honours that which never fails us — the resilience of the land and sea and of course the women who populate our lives and strengthen us.  Her characteristic bright colored paintings vibrate with impressionistic strokes of color, laid down with a pallet knife or quick moving brush.  That intermediary space between the colors, where the complimentary grays appear are her favorite passages.  Susan says, “ Our lives are made up of passing moments, those incidences that you only appreciate fully when you look back at them.  These paintings are metaphors for those moments”.

Thanks to the internet, she was also able to accomplish another whole volunteer job during these quiet days.  Grenada participated as a national pavilion in la Biennale di Venezia Architecture Exhibition for the first time May through November of 2021.  The pavilion showed Grenada’s new House of Parliament, which was designed by Bryan Bullen, a son of the soil.  Only the faithful crew on the ground in Venice made this possible, because of travel restrictions, no one could go. The Biennale had over 300,000 visitors, inspite of the rigid Covid protocols.  It was the only outpost for Grenada in the heart of Europe during this bleak time. 

Then there was Expo 2020 in Dubai.  (actually totally in 2021) Susan also volunteered to curate the art that Grenada presented as part of its display.  By December of 2021 travel had eased enough that she actually travelled to see it! Several artists from Grenada had their first opportunity to show internationally at this event.  The expo will continue through the end of March.

Further flexing her curatorial muscle, she is now organizing the Grenada Pavilion for the 59th Biennale di Venezia, set to open in Venice in April.  The Cypher Art Collective of Grenada will show the result of more than a year of zoom meetings, portraying the very interesting ritual of Shakespeare Mas in Carriacou.  It is a huge task, but the intangible rewards are immeasurable. 

Susan says, “In this time of tremendous change in the Caribbean, we need to stand our ground and tell our own stories.  Heritage is more than a buzz word for accessing funding for projects—it is the living of our lives well as we remember our ancestors”. 

Susan will be at the Gallery of Caribbean Art on 17th Feb in the afternoon from 1 pm to 7 pm. Stop in for a chat!  The show continues through the end of February.

Click here to see some of the pics! Or point your phone at it!

2020 -- New Year, new work.

Opening 2020 in Barbados!  Hope you can come for the opening if you are around. Sunday 12th Jan at Gallery of Caribbean Art in Barbados.

Have recently found family roots in Barbados from long ago, and exploring those links.

The Ancestor Series
The Ancestors SeriesJust having fun. No my ancestors were not sheep.

Barbados here we come!

You are welcome to come!  New work by Susan Mains and Catherine Forter Chee-a-tow.  Opens 12th Jan at 5.30 pm

 See you in BIM!

Catalogue of Grafted Narratives

It's here!  The catalogue of the full show.  Take a look, and order a copy from Blurb. It's easy.

Grafted Narratives by Paintings by Susan Mains and Asher Mains | Make Your Own Book

Press Release--Grafted Narratives

Eve grows a Spine, from Grafted Narratives            If you’ve ever felt like there wasn’t a word for something you were trying to describe, perhaps you should have asked the plants.  Susan Mains and Asher Mains have done just that. Bringing a veritable garden of new paintings and installations from Grenada, Susan and Asher Mains will be divulging the plants’ secrets at the opening of “Grafted Narratives” at the Gallery of Caribbean Art Gallery in Speightstown, Barbados on February 15^th, 2014

            Susan Mains describes her process. “I first came across Stephan Bertalan’s work while visiting the Venice Biennale with a group of artists from Grenada in the summer of 2013.  His work of penciled botanicals captured my attention, because it instantly reminded me of the x-rays of my spine from an on-going physical deterioration.   I was captivated by the notion of this development of the plant, and my mind went on a mental “what if trip”. What if that flower could be transplanted in to the human body and replace the faulty parts?  What if it was a heliconia from home in Grenada.  What if other faulty body parts could also be replaced—like a heart transplant with the banana flower, or a broken femur with a strong stretch of bamboo?   What if passion’s fire could be lit with passion fruit? What if everything we need for physical healing actually comes from the ground—like turmeric for depression or cocoa for a host of ailments.  What if the Japanese forest therapy of going outside to ease your mind (without cell phone) really is worth the millions of dollars they are investing in the science of it. This body of work of paintings and installations is the result of that wander into the imagination. Perhaps only the very young cannot relate to the pain that is possible from within your own self.  Everyone suffers, whether in body or in mind. It is a universal condition. Sometimes the questions are the most intriguing part.”

            The first aspect you may notice about Asher Mains’ work, aside from the abounding plant material in the paintings, are the Latin titles. “We are quick to give human qualities to plants and animals but have we considered that some words used only for plants may better describe the human condition?” says Mains. Archaeophyte, for example, describes a plant that is a non-native to a geographical area but had been introduced in an “ancient” time. It also describes the painting of a Rasta gazing at the viewer with eyes tempered by wisdom and age. Or Epicorm, a part of a plant that would not grow except if the plant had been damaged or burned. Epicorm in the series is an old man, squatting and waiting to be provoked into expressing his new form. There are many words that we can borrow from the plants to better describe and understand ourselves. While the plants may wait to share their mysteries with you – these paintings may not.

Mother and son, Mains and Mains have two distinctly different painting styles, despite the common theme of this exhibit.  Susan Mains work is extremely gestural and textured, while Asher Mains shows the discipline of his classical training with refined technique and strokes.  The rich colour of tropical  Caribbean is a commonality.

The exhibit continues through March 15^th at Gallery of Caribbean Art.