Bendel Hydes (born 1952)

 

My work is concerned primarily with the sensory world of sight, sound and touch and in the visual metaphors thereby produced to cerebrally enhance physical and conceptual possibilities. Mostly through painting, I use the language of translucent and biomorphic abstraction to explore ways in which nature and culture interact, reflecting on both the rational and ritualistic concerns of perceiving these opposites.

 

Through a "geography of spatial color" and a vocabulary of semi-figurative shapes and symbols, I strive to address such issues as topographical changes, isolation, beauty, vulnerability and the character of place to traverse the boundary between physical abstraction and emotional reality, thus forming the narrative that binds the work together. The duration of a passing sound vibration or the feeling of the wind by the ocean may elucidate an experience to be reconciled or the colour and movement of a particular shape may produce a new imaginary paradigm.

 

The mind and memory of my work is in the process. Whether it is applying continuous washes and drips of colour over another, sculpting and mixing paint with another substance, or in the gesture, my aim is to question the aesthetics of the materials I use. In a recent environmental work, Starpath, the abundance of naturally occurring turtle-grass and sea-debris allowed me to create giant stars along a stretch of deserted beach, thereby merging land, sea and sky in one sweeping universal gesture.

 

 

Specifically, I am interested in meaning that depends on context and in visual signifiers that resonate the nature of experience through that context.

 

 

 

Education:

Clark University, Massachusetts, USA. BA - 1976 Canterbury College of Art, England, UK. 1972 - 1974 Liverpool College of Art, England, UK. 1971 - 1972

 

Solo Exhibitions:

2010         Circumnavigating the Globe; Tenri Cultural Institute, New York City 2007     Luminous Travels; Galerie de la tour, Vouvant, France

A Geography of Space; Estel Gallery, Nashville, TN. USA 2004     Starpath; An installation at Barkers Beach, Cayman Islands 2003         Soundings: Selected Works 1989-2001;

National Gallery of the Cayman Islands Climate of Sight; Collaborative Concepts, Beacon, NY

2002         Bendel Hydes/Tony Martin; Studio 18 Gallery, New York City 2000     Fathoms (Monotypes); Grand Old House, Cayman Islands 1997    Source (Drawings); Cayman Fine Art, Cayman Islands

Paintings ; San Lorenzo Fine Art, New York City 1996        Soundings in Fathoms; 23rd Intn’l Biennale de Sao Paulo, Brazil 1995         Bendel Hydes; Gallery Juno, New York City

Homage to Cayos Miskitos; Cayman Nat’l Cultural Foundation. C. Is. 1991       Bendel Hydes; Clark University, Worcester, MA 1990         Bendel Hydes Offshore; Bettal Gallery, New York City 1986   New Paintings; Commonwealth Institute, London, England

New Paintings ; Cayman National Theatre, Cayman Islands 1981  New Works; McField Square Galleries, Cayman Islands 1979         Elements in a Free Space; Gov’t Legislative Assembly, Cayman Is. 1974   Bendel Hydes; Royal Palms Hotel, Cayman Islands

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2011 A La Folie; Genty Fine Art, London, UK

2010 Nature Calls; Shore Center of Contemporary Art; Long Branch, NJ LATATARA: An exercise in Visual Poetry; Estonian House, NYC

2007 Summer Salon; Leo Kuelbs Collection, Brooklyn, NY

2006 Gallery Artists; Saunders Fine Art, London, England, UK Inaugural Exhibition; Estel Gallery, Nashville, TN Au courant; National Gallery of the Cayman Islands Drawing the Line Against Domestic Violence:Gala Benefit Auction, Helen Mills Theatre, New York City Surface; Brenda Taylor Gallery, New York City

2005         Winter Solstice IV; Shifts in Contemporary Art: The Arts Exchange Gallery, White Plains, NY Winter Show; Studio 18 Gallery, New York City

Point of View; Alpan Gallery, Huntington, NY From Here to Infinity; White Box Gallery, New York City

2004         In Polytechnicolor; Michael Steinberg Fine Art, New York City Degrees of Abstraction; Alpan Gallery, Huntington, NY

2003         Caribbean & Latin Fine Art; Caribbean Tourism Org. NYC Art Miami; Kensington-Lott Fine Art, Grand Cayman, Cayman Is.

2002         9/11 Refuge Exhibition; Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2001         Between Lines: Caribbean & International Traveling Exhibition; -02  Palacio de Bellas Artes, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Museum of Curacao, Willemstat, Curacao Exhibition Hall, Conseil Regional General, Martinique Museum of Art, Paramaribo, Suriname Art Museum of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, Haiti ACP House, Brussells, Belgium Antigua; Dominica; Guadeloupe; St. Martin; St. Maarten

2001         2nd Biennial Art Auction; GAle GAtes et al, Brooklyn, New York Summer Group Show; Axel Raben Gallery, New York City Group Show; Kensington Lott Fine Art, Cayman Islands. Angels' Night Auction; Performing Arts Center of LA, CA

2000         Substance; Neoimages, New York City

1999         Private Mythologies; Westbeth Gallery, New York City Size Matters; GALe GAtes et al, Brooklyn, NY Morir Soñando; 76 VARICK, New York City

1998         30th International Festival of Painting; Museum of Cagnes-sur-Mer, France

Absolut Secret; McKee Gallery, New York City

1997         Not in New York; Krasdale Gallery, White Plains, NY

1996         Driven to Abstraction: The Power of Color and Form; Paramount Center for the Arts; Peekskill, NY

Summer Show; Gallery Juno, New York City

1995         CARIBBEAN VISIONS: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture; -98  North American Traveling Exhibition:

Center for Fine Arts, Miami, FL New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, CT African American Museum, Dallas, TX Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, VT Center for African American History and Culture, Smithsonian, DC Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, FL Latin American Art Museum, Long Beach, CA

1995         SMALL; Gallery Juno, New York City Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA VI); Trinidad

1994         Carib Art; International Traveling Exhibition: -96    International Trade Center, Curacao, Netherland Antilles

Centro Caiquetio, Aruba, Netherland Antilles Harquail Cultural Center, Cayman Islands Bermuda National Gallery, Hamilton, Bermuda UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France

1994         Summer Solstice; Sound Shore Gallery, Stamford, CT Spellbound; Blondies Contemporary Art, New York City

1993         500 Years After: Caribbean and Central American Painting; Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC

1992         Abstract Art in the 90’s: Where is it at? Where is it going? Sound Shore Gallery, Stamford, CT

First Caribbean & Latin American Biennale of Painting;

Galeria De Arte Moderno, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic Summer Shock Waves; Sound Shore Gallery, Stamford, CT Group Show; Triplex Gallery, Borough of Manhattan Community

College, New York City Caymanian Art; National Museum of the Cayman Islands

1991         Emerging Artists; Kenkeleba Gallery, New York City First National Juried Exhibition; Cornerstone Gallery of Fine Art,

Falls Village, CT

The South of the World; the Other Contemporary Art:

Museum of Contemporary Art, Marsala, Italy Museum of Contemporary Art, Palermo, Italy

1990         22nd National Painting Exhibition; Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA

1989         Group Show; Straus Gallery, New York City

1988         Bendel Hydes/Elisa Decker; Galleria Princip., Altos de Chavon, D.R.

1986         Caribbean Art/African Currents; Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York City

1985         Hudson Valley ‘85; Mid-Hudson Arts and Sciences Center, Poughkeepsie, NY

36th Art of the Northeast USA; Silvermine Center, CT Caribbean Art/African Currents; Goddard-Riverside Center, NYC Inaugural Exhibition; Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, NYC Two Person Show; Gallerie Taub, Philladelphia, PA

1984         Art Against Apartheid; Touring Exhibition: -85         Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City

Hunter College, New York City Paul Robeson Cultural Center, Penn State University, PA

1984         Nat’l Painting Exhibition; Woodstock School of Art, Woodstock, NY The Thirteen Collection Auction; Sotheby Park Bernet, NYC Group Show; Jamaica Arts Center, Queens, NY Interplay ‘84; Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY

1983         Newcastle Salutes New York; UK Exhibition: Newcastle Polytechnic, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, U.K. Arcade Gallery, Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, U.K.

1982         XXI International Drawing Exhibition; Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona, Spain

1981         Cleveland (UK) Fifth International Drawing Biennale; United Kingdom Touring Exhibitions:

Billingham Art Gallery, Middlesbrough, England Bowes Museum, Bradford Castle, England Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, England House of Commons, London, England

1981         Trends 4; Cayman Gallery, New York City Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA); Bridgetown, Barbados

1980         Bendel Hydes & Pat Byles; Canadian Imp. Bank of Comm. C. Is.

Awards:

2009         Gold Medal Award for Creativity, Cayman Nat. Cultural Fdn. 2002      Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York City 2001         Artist-in-Residence, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM 1996          Award of Excellence, Cayman National Cultural Foundation 1996         XXIII Bienal de Sao Paulo, Brazil, Govt. Exhibition Grant;, Cayman Is. 1992    Artist-in-Residence, Harquail Cultural Center, Cayman Islands

1988         Artist-in-Residence, Altos de Chavon, Dominican Republic 1987        Scholarship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT 1986         Government Exhibition Grant, Cayman Islands 1986       British Airways, Exhibition Sponsorship

1985         Dr. Maury Leibovitz Art Award, New York, N.Y. 1985       Exhibition Grant, Artists Space, New York, N.Y.

Public Collections:

National Gallery of the Cayman Islands UBS (Cayman Islands) Ltd. Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (Cayman) Ltd. Galeria de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Cayman National Bank, Cayman Islands

HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Government of the Cayman Islands Cayman National Cultural Foundation Cayman Islands National Museum Cayman Islands National Archive Cayman Islands Public Library

The Bank of Nova Scotia (Cayman) Ltd. Bibliography:

Self-Discovery in Chelsea ; Michelina Docimo, CultureCatch, Oct. 16, 2010 Cayman’s Art World; Jordan Simon, Caribbean Living, Winter 09-10; p. 50-51 The Artist’s Studio: Bendel Hydes; Christopher Tobutt, Cayman Life, Winter 2008. p. 74

More than a Bohemian Existence; Wendy Ledger and Nicky Watson, Cayman Life, Summer 2007. p. 70 Conceptual SPACE; Megan Byrd, Nashville Lifestyle Magazine, Feb. 2007. p.28.

Bendel Hydes, le peintre de la globaliste...; Richard D’Amphernet, Vouvant Matin, Oct. 31, 2006. p.16

A Tasty Morsel or Two... Benjamin Genocchio, The New York Times;, Westchester Section, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006. Founded Upon the Seas: A History of the Cayman Islands and their People; Michael Craton, Ian Randle Publs, Kingston, Jamaica, 2003

Bendel Hydes: Soundings 1989-2001; National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, Henry Muttoo, (catalogue) 2003 Listen: Soundings... Searlina Bodden, Caymanian Compass, Caayman Is., 10/17/03

Collaborative Concepts To Showcase "Climate Of Sight”, The PUTNAM COUNTY NEWS and RECORDER; Cold Spring, NY, Feb. 5, 2003 Lucid Dreaming: Here and There (are closer than you think), Beth Elaine Wilson, Chronogram Magazine, New Paltz, NY. March 2003 Interview with Henry Muttoo, Foundation: The Arts & Culture Journal of the Cayman Islands. July 2002, Vol 1 No 2

New York State of Mind, NY Art Expo 2002; Lulu Roseman, The Blurb, Sydney, Australia. April 2002 Joseph Walentini /Janet Shapiro, Ed:...at Studio 18 Gallery; Abstract Art Online, Volume IV / No.8, April 2002

Bendel Hydes reflects on New Meaning, Elphina Maguna, Caymanian Compass, Grand Cayman. 4/5/ 2002 Between Lines, Marianne de Tolentino, Ed: catal; Cariforo Cultural Center, Santo Domingo, Dom. Republic. July, 2001

Foundation Magazine, Cover; Cayman Islands, vol 1, No 1 September, 2001 Private Mythologies at Westbeth; Joe Matzuk, Arts Wire, NYC 11/9/1999 XXXth Festival International de la Peinture, D. Dominick Lombardi, Chateau-Musee Grimaldi, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France (catalogue) 1998 Carribbean Art, Veerle Poupeye, Thames and Hudson, London & New York, 1998 p.154-155

Island Dreams, ARTnews, December 1997 p.157 In the Caribbean, A Mixture of Cultures, William Zimmer, The NY Times, May 25, 1997 Outside Manhattan Borders, The Record-Review, Bedford Pound Ridge, NY December 5, 1997, p. 25 Secret Gardens, Leon Nigrosh, Worcester Phoenix, Worcester, MA May 2,1997 Exhibit explores more than just the surface, Gina Carpentar, The Central Recorder, Hartford CT April 30, 1997 Elegy Painted in a New York Studio, Henry Muttoo, Caymanian Compass, January 24, 1997 Artista Caribenho Bendel Hydes..., Ribeirao Preto, O Diario, Sao Paulo, Brazil September 4, 1996 Hydes representa Ilhas Caima..., Antonia Chagas, O Estado de Sao Paulo, Caderno 2, September 4, 1996 Pintura do Caribe..., Antonio Goncalves Filho, O Estado de Sao Paulo, Caderno 2, September 4, 1996 32 Pictures..., Vivian Raynor, New York Times, April 21, 1996

Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture; Art Services International, Virginia, USA (Catalogue) 1995 Carib Art and Soul, Carol Gray, Cayman Executive, Fourth Quarter 1994, 500 years after: Caribbean and Central American Painting;

Art Museum of the Americas, Org. of American States, Washington, DC 1993 Sound Shore Exhibit, Carolee Ross, The Sunday Greenwich Times, Greenwich, CT January 31,1993 WBAI Pacifica Radio, Art Breaking, Charlie Finch, Interview, 11/14/91, NYC Clark University News, Worcester, MA, Summer 1991

The South of the World: the other contemporary art; Galleria Civica d’arte Contemporanea, F. Pizzo, Marsala, Italy. (Catalogue), 1991 Caymanian Compass, Moira McCartney, September 14, 1990 Altos de Chavon, ABOARD magazine, March/April 1989, Miami, Fl

The Caribbean Connection by Bendel Hydes , Neema Kabona, Caribbean Times, June 27, 1986, London, England Comment on Bendel Hydes, Daphne Robinson, Caribbean Focus, Issue No. 4, Commonwealth Institute, London, England

Caribbean Magazine, BBC World Service Radio Interview, 6/19, 1986, London, UK Caribbean Art/African Currents; Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, NYC, 1986

Ikon Magazine: Art Against Apartheid/Works for Freedom;

Tribute to Dennis Brutus, by Bendel Hydes; Intro. by Alice Walker, #5/6 1986

 

£1200 - £10000