Bendel Hydes &

Abstract Expressionism

Jackson Pollock, Drip Painting, 1951 Bendel Hydes, Interior, 1989

Mark Rothko, Yellow Over Purple, 1956 Bendel Hydes, Untitled, 1988 “What I am striving for is to discover new ways of seeing the world. What the untrained eye might

see as abstraction is nothing but a new vehicle by which to represent reality” (Bendel Hydes)

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The Artist Bendel Hydes is known as Cayman’s foremost contemporary artist. He was born in West Bay, Grand Cayman in 1952. Hydes studied art at Liverpool College of Art and Canterbury College in the UK and finished his studies at Clark University in the US, where he completed a degree in philosophy and political science. Hydes has lived and worked in New York City since 1982 and participated in several important exhibitions there and in France, Brazil, London and Washington, D.C. His art is found in the collection of HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and several other public and private collections, including the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Islands National Archive. Whilst he began his career working in a realist or representational style, since the 1980s Hydes has worked with abstraction, creating paintings that are inspired by his Caymanian heritage, as well as European and American modern art movements such as Abstract Expressionism.

Jackson Pollock, Blue Polls, 1952

Abstract Expressionism Abstract art refers to the non-representational style of visual depiction that is less concerned with accurate rendering of visual reality and more so with colour and composition in their own right. Expressionism refers to an artistic style rooted in the subjective experiences of the artist. Expressionist art typically prioritises the emotions or inner feelings of the artist over the external world or the specific subject that is being depicted. Abstract Expressionism was an American art movement that emerged in New York in the 1940s and which extended these concepts further, while also developing the idea of spontaneous creation associated with Surrealism— a European art movement that emphasised the creative possibilities inherent in exploring the subconscious and automatic (unrehearsed) techniques of production. Artists commonly associated with Abstract Expressionism include Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman.

Bendel Hydes, Gulfstream, 1989 Franz Kline, Untitled, 1954

The Artwork Bendel Hydes began exploring ideas and techniques associated with Abstract Expressionism after he moved to New York in the early 1980s— the city where that style first emerged. Hydes uses the technique of dripping or pouring paint in many of his works of this period, including The Ledges (1994), which is inspired by the painting style of Jackson Pollock. Hydes also uses simplified blocks of paint in many of his abstract works of the 1990s, which are similar to Mark Rothko’s paintings of the 1950s that employ contrasting rectangular fields of colour.

Bendel Hydes, The Ledges, 1994 Mark Rothko, White Center Painting, 1950 Discussion • What do Bendel Hydes’ paintings make you think of? How do they make you feel? Do the titles give you an idea about the meaning of each painting? • Do you prefer work that has an idea behind it? Is your own art more about the image you produce or the idea behind it? • The sea features in Hydes work because of his childhood in Cayman and his family’s connection to maritime culture. What things in your life influence what you like to paint? Making Comparisons • Look at the work of other Abstract and Expressionist painters such as Pollock and Newman. How is their work similar to, and different from, the work of Bendel Hydes? https://www.moma.org/artists/4285 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock Follow Up Activities • Look at the Bendel Hydes paintings that are on display at the National Gallery. Can you identify works that are similar in style to paintings by well-known Abstract Expressionist artists? What are some of the traits they have in common? • Can you create your own artwork using some of the techniques that were common in Abstract Expressionism and which influenced artists like Bendel Hydes? Think about dripping or pouring paint and adopting a more spontaneous approach. Try and channel your feelings and emotions through your choice of colours as well.

Bendel Hydes &

Luminescent Abstraction

Bendel Hydes, Untitled (Reef Revisited Series), 2005 Bendel Hydes, Belief, 2006

Bendel Hydes, Resonance, 2008 Bendel Hydes, Paradox of Dreams, 2010

“My work has clarified itself in terms of a kind of search for order in space…the general principle

is to understand, feel and grasp that art is really a process” (Bendel Hydes)

This information pack has been kindly sponsored by:

The Artist Bendel Hydes is known as Cayman’s foremost contemporary artist. He was born in West Bay, Grand Cayman in 1952. Hydes studied art at Liverpool College of Art and Canterbury College in the UK and finished his studies at Clark University in the US, where he completed a degree in philosophy and political science. Hydes has lived and worked in New York City since 1982 and participated in several important exhibitions there and in France, Brazil, London and Washington, D.C. His art is found in the collection of HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and several other public and private collections, including the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Islands National Archive.

Bendel Hydes, Anemone I, 1996 Luminescent Abstraction Abstract art refers to the non-representational style of visual depiction that is less concerned with accurate rendering of visual reality and more so with colour and composition in their own right. Bendel Hydes uses the term ‘Luminescent Abstraction’ to describe the style of painting he developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This technique has now become the artist’s signature style and involves the layering of multiple washes of paint to create a sense of depth and textural variety in his work. The artist is able to convey the quality of light and shadow or the flow of water by slowly building up the surface of his canvases in successive layers. Hydes achieves this process by diluting his oils before applying these washes to the surface of his paintings, which he then thins even further with the aid of a cloth. The resulting images have a luminous, radiant quality that is reminiscent of the sky at sunrise or sunset. Some examples of Hydes’ luminescent abstractions include Belief (2006) and Transmuted Sky V (2008).

Bendel Hydes, Transmuted Sky V, 2008

The Artwork

Hydes’ experiments with technique culminated with his Circumnavigating the Globe paintings (2008-2010), which are the best examples of the artist’s style of luminescent abstraction. Desert Kabuki is one of a dozen large canvases that form part of the series, which represents a metaphorical journey around the world (each of the paintings represent a 30-degree section of longitude spanning the entire earth’s surface). Speaking of Desert Kabuki, Hydes remarks that he was ‘toying with the idea of Japanese Kabuki in the Australian desert’ as a way of merging these two opposing cultures.

Bendel Hydes, Desert Kabuki, 2009 Discussion • What do you feel is the benefit of creating abstract imagery versus traditional subject matter, such as landscapes and still lifes? • Do you think realism requires more skill and technique than abstract art? What are the main differences between these two forms of artistic expression, and which do you most relate to? • How do you feel Hydes’ technique helps him depict difficult subject matter like moving water or rays of light? Do you think building up layers of paint helps the artist create a sense of depth and texture in his works? Follow Up Activities • Visit the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and view the Bendel Hydes works in the middle room of the lower exhibition hall. How do they differ from his earlier paintings of the 1980s? • Try and imitate Bendel Hydes’ Luminescent Abstraction painting technique. What are some of the difficulties in working with multiple layers of paint and can you find a successful solution for this problem? • Think of a sunset, a sunrise or an image from nature that you can remember clearly. Try and capture the feeling or sensation of that memory and convey your impressions through your artwork.

Bendel Hydes & Realism

Gustave Courbet, The Fishing Boat, 1865 Bendel Hydes, Nor’wester, 1979

Jules Bastien-Lepage, October, 1878 Bendel Hydes, Untitled, 1981

“My references seem to be generated from the relationship of land and sea…my early work was

very realistic and of the landscape” (Bendel Hydes)

This information pack has been kindly sponsored by:

The Artist Bendel Hydes is known as Cayman’s foremost contemporary artist. He was born in West Bay, Grand Cayman in 1952. Hydes studied art at Liverpool College of Art and Canterbury College in the UK and finished his studies at Clark University in the US, where he completed a degree in philosophy and political science. Hydes has lived and worked in New York City since 1982 and participated in several important exhibitions there and in France, Brazil, London and Washington, D.C. His art is found in the collection of HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and several other public and private collections, including the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Islands National Archive. Hydes began his career working in a realist or representational style. At the time, realistic work was more popular and commercially successful than abstract art, as Hydes explains: ‘if you didn’t reproduce something that was a very strict photographic interpretation of reality, it wasn’t considered valid. It was not art’. Gradually these attitudes would start to change, with Hydes today being recognised as the Islands’ most successful artist.

Bendel Hydes, Mr. Bibi’s House, 1969 Realism Realism refers firstly to an artistic style in which the primary objective is to faithfully record a subject, such as a group of figures, a fishing boat, or the surrounding landscape, in a realistic manner. In this style, accuracy of proportions, perspective, naturalistic colour and detail are all highly prized and the scene or subject is usually clearly identifiable as a recognisable person, place or thing. In the context of the history of art, Realism also refers more directly to an art movement which appeared in France in the mid-nineteenth century and is associated with the work of artists such as Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet. In many ways, Realism can be seen to represent the beginnings of modern art.

Gustave Courbet, Cliffs at Etretat, After the Storm, 1870

The Artwork

Bendel Hydes began exploring ideas and techniques associated with Realism in the late 1960s, under the guidance of his first art teacher, Ed Oliver. The emphasis of these classes was on painting outdoors and spontaneously capturing a scene, while also developing naturalistic drawing techniques. Hydes continued to work in a representational style into the 1980s, producing several prints of local landmarks, such as his Island Images Series, alongside numerous maritime-inspired watercolours depicting fisherman and Caymanian catboats.

Jules Breton, The End of the Working Day, 1886-87 Bendel Hydes, Island Images Series II, 1979 Discussion • Why do you think Bendel Hydes chose to initially work in a representational manner? What is the benefit of choosing a realistic style when depicting your local surroundings? • Do you think realism requires more skill and technique than abstract art? What are the main differences between these two forms of artistic expression, and which do you most relate to? Making Comparisons • Look at the work of other Realist painters such as Gustave Courbet, Jean-Francois Millet, or the American James Abbott McNeill Whistler. How is their work similar to, and different from, the work of Bendel Hydes? https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/r/realism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Courbet Follow Up Activities • Visit the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and view the Bendel Hydes works in the Dart Auditorium that date from 1969-1983. How do they differ from his later paintings of the 1990s? • Try and paint something in a Realist style, such as a landscape or still life. Use a photo for reference if you find that helpful or go outside and paint from nature.

Bendel Hydes &

Expressionism

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Portrait of a Woman,1911 Bendel Hydes, Woman, 1985

Wassily Kandinsky, Landscape with Factory Chimney, 1910 Bendel Hydes, To Miss Issie, 1984

“As an artist today, I am as much informed by the what I have rejected from the ashes of

Modernism as by what I have accepted” (Bendel Hydes)

This information pack has been kindly sponsored by:

The Artist Bendel Hydes is known as Cayman’s foremost contemporary artist. He was born in West Bay, Grand Cayman in 1952. Hydes studied art at Liverpool College of Art and Canterbury College in the UK and finished his studies at Clark University in the US, where he completed a degree in philosophy and political science. Hydes has lived and worked in New York City since 1982 and participated in several important exhibitions there and in France, Brazil, London and Washington, D.C. His art is found in the collection of HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh and several other public and private collections, including the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Islands National Archive. Whilst he began his career working in a realist or representational style, since the 1980s Hydes has worked with abstraction, creating paintings that are inspired by his Caymanian heritage, as well as European modern art movements such as Expressionism.

Wassily Kandinsky, Study for Improvisation V, 1910 Expressionism

Abstract art refers to the non-representational style of visual depiction that is less concerned with accurate rendering of visual reality and more so with colour and composition in their own right. Expressionism refers to an artistic style rooted in the subjective experiences of the artist. Expressionist art typically prioritises the emotions of the artist over the specific subject that is being depicted. In the visual arts, Expressionism refers more specifically to a German art movement that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century. Artists associated with the movement include Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc and Paul Klee. As a style, Expressionism can be characterised by its use of bold, expressive colours, which are often used to invoke a particular mood. Expressionist artists were also drawn to tribal and folk art, which often depart from traditional means of representation, such as naturalism and realism.

Franz Marc, Red Bull, 1912

The Artwork Bendel Hydes began exploring ideas and techniques associated with Expressionism after he moved to New York in the early 1980s. There he encountered many examples of expressionist and abstract paintings in the city’s famous museums, having previously studied these same art movements during his time at college in England. Hydes uses bright colours and expressive brushwork to capture a sense of energy and movement, while also conveying feelings inspired by his upbringing in Cayman, as in the case of the painting To Miss Izzie, which refers to the artist’s primary school teacher Miss Issie Powell.

Bendel Hydes, The Harbour, 1986 Kandinsky, The Cow, 1910 Discussion • What do Bendel Hydes’ paintings make you feel? Do his choice of colours and his compositions convey certain emotions or give a clue as to what the artist’s state of mind was when he painted them? • Do you think it’s easier to convey feelings by being spontaneous and painting in an expressive style, or do you think realism is more effective than abstract art at achieving this? Making Comparisons • Look at the work of other Expressionist painters such as Wassily Kandinsky and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. How is their work similar to, and different from, the work of Bendel Hydes? https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/e/expressionism https://www.moma.org/s/ge/collection_ge/artist/artist_id-3115_thumbs.html Follow Up Activities • Visit the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and view the Bendel Hydes paintings from the 1980s that are on display. What is it about them that makes them Expressionist in style? • What is your greatest source of inspiration when you create your art? Try and think about this when you paint and channel the feelings you have about this idea or subject through your painting. Can you imitate an expressionist style in your artwork?