June 16, 2021 - Bermuda National Gallery

The Bermuda Collection

The Bermuda National Gallery is pleased to announce the acquisition of new artworks by Gherdai Hassell and Jayde Gibbons to be included in the permanent collection. Both artists exhibited in the Bermuda Biennial, sponsored by Bacardi Limited, and Gherdai’s first solo exhibition, I Am Because You Are, is currently on view to the public. As part of the permanent collection, their artworks will be used for exhibition and education purposes.

jayde gibbons all the kings men bermuda national gallery — Above and top: *All The Kings Men* by Jayde Gibbons, 2019. Photography and mixed media. 72 x 96 in. Collection of Bermuda National Gallery.

All The Kings Men by Jayde Gibbons, which was exhibited in the 2020 Bermuda Biennial Let Me Tell You Something, adds to our photography collection, which includes works by James Athill Frith, Richard Saunders and John Pfahl alongside contemporary works by Meredith Andrews, James Cooper and Antoine Hunt.

To mark Gherdai Hassell’s first solo exhibition, currently on display through to the end of September, we have purchased two portraits: Atlas of Afterimage and Points on the Circle. These sit in the collection alongside historical portraits by Joseph Blackburne and Thomas Driver and contemporary works by Jacqueline Alma and Henry Ward.

*Atlas of Afterimage* by Gherdai Hassell, 2020. 24 x 30 in. Mixed media, oil paint, acrylic paint and collage on canvas. Collection of Bermuda National Gallery.

Peter Lapsley, Executive Director said “The BNG Collections are a wonderful resource and when a new work or works are added it is always after a very considered review. That is to say we are thrilled to have the chance to add these works by Jayde Gibbons and Gherdai Hassell to the collection. These young Bermudian artists are masterful storytellers and their works will remain as relevant for future generations as they are for this moment”.

*Points on the Circle* by Gherdai Hassell, 2020. 24 x 30 in. Mixed media, oil paint, acrylic paint and collage on canvas. Collection of Bermuda National Gallery.

Gherdai added: “The Bermuda National Gallery collection should reflect a wide variety of artistic offerings from local artists. I’m thrilled to have my work included in the collection. When works become part of public collections, they become permanent parts of culture. I’m so happy to have BNG as a steward of this work. I am humbled by this acquisition. It is my hope that with us opening this door, we can leave it open for other upcoming young artists to follow.”

BNG’s permanent collection celebrates Bermuda’s unique cultural heritage. At the core of the collection, which includes the European Collection and the African Collection, is the Bermuda Collection, which brings together the best of Bermuda art produced over the last 350 years.

Gherdai Hassell (left) and Jayde Gibbons (right) at the opening of the 2020 Bermuda Biennial, in which they both exhibited. The artists were in the same GCSE art class at Berkley Institute in 2007.

Theme Announced

Next year is an important year for the Bermuda National Gallery. 2022 marks thirty years since the opening of the gallery and forty years since its genesis, the Bermuda Fine Arts Act, was passed in parliament. It also sees the opening of the 15th Bermuda Biennial – a critical platform for our island’s living artists – and, with it, a celebration of thirty years of contemporary Bermuda art.

Generously sponsored by Bacardi Limited since its inception, the Bermuda Biennial provides a uniquecultural cornerstone for our contemporary artists and shines an international spotlight on our people, our places, our stories and our future.

We are excited to announce the theme for 2022, which we encourage artists to start thinking about: A New Vocabulary: Past. Present. Future. Applications are due in January and details on how to submit will be shared shortly.

In celebration of our anniversary, we are this year opening applications up to include prose and poetry and encourage proposals for public artworks.

As we take stock of the seismic societal shifts that have taken place since the last Bermuda Biennial and approach our 30th year in reflection upon the Bermuda National Gallery’s past, present and future, we turn it over to you, our artists, to write a new vocabulary.

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