Awe-inspiring art at Liguanea Lodge Art Auction
Published:Sunday | May 26, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Keisha Hill, Gleaner Writer
From acrylic on canvas, oil pastel on paper, conta crayon on paper, acrylic on watercolour and ceramic designs, the 80 pieces of exquisite art pieces on auction at the Liguanea Lodge Art Auction and Wine & Cheese Party were breathtaking.
This year, the Liguanea Lodge Art Auction provided collectors and connoisseurs with an exquisite collection of distinguished works by prominent artists including Cecil Cooper, George Rodney, Lennie Miller, Joshua Gordon, Michael Flynn-Elliott, David Pottinger, Seya Parboosingh, and Paul Blackwood to name a few.
According to Dr Audley Betton, director of ceremonies, the annual event that started at Kings House with its present home at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel was successful. He stated that the auction was a calendar event for many persons. "People say they buy our art pieces because we always sell good art, so collectors - big and small - they come out and participate, not just for the wine and cheese," Betton said.
"This year, we proudly mark 21 unbroken years of staging this event and with 21 being the globally recognised age of full adulthood, it is fair to say we have come of age. A very proud achievement this is for us, which couldn't have been done without the support of the artist, buyers, collectors, supporters and brethren," said Patrick Gillings, chairman of the Liguanea Lodge Art Auction.
Also in attendance were students from the Seaforth High School, who are the recent winners of the Mural Music and Arts Project. They were invited by the Liguanea Lodge to witness first-hand the fine art of the exhibitors.
EXCELLENT PIECES
"The pieces were excellent and the work we have seen here has motivated us to excel to the point where one day we can have our work displayed in a similar position. Art doesn't have an ending, anything you have in mind you can express it. We will definitely be aspiring to produce these works of art like these artists," said Kemar Williams, a lower sixth-form art student at the school.
Gillings said in order to include more variety, they added a new component to their offerings this year. "As we seek to continue our presentation of unique and original pieces of work, this year we have introduced another level of segmentation to our offering. We are indeed very happy to now have the inclusion of a deeper Caribbean flavour to our auction, with pieces directly from Haiti," Gillings said.
The Liguanea Lodge has for more than 20 years, staged the annual art auction and wine and cheese party as part of its charitable efforts to provide scholarships and other support to high school and tertiary-level students, residents of children's homes, medical equipment to hospitals, and similar charitable ventures. Each year, the organisation identifies several projects in which they can also serve as mentors.