NEW YORK – A new, 208-page retrospective of work by Llewellyn Xavier – St. Lucia’s pre-eminent visual artist known worldwide for strong conceptual work that has explored such issues as race, sex, spirituality, and the environment – has been published by Macmillan Caribbean as part of its series on Caribbean artists.
The book, titled Llewellyn Xavier: His Life and Work, is narrated by both Xavier and series editor Edward Lucie-Smith, and provides a fascinating, in-depth look of the artist’s 40-year creative journey.
The book launch will be celebrated from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at Pigeon Island National Park with an exclusive book-signing and champagne reception held under the distinguished patronage of St. Lucia Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy and hosted by Macmillan Caribbean and Sunshine Bookshop.
Twenty years ago, Xavier made statements about the ongoing destruction of the natural world through his internationally renowned masterpiece series Global Council for Restoration of the Earth’s Environment. Inspired by impending threats on St. Lucia that he discovered upon returning to the island in 1987 after living abroad, the artist hoped this work would raise awareness about dire ecological issues. Now, 20 years later, Xavier’s concerns are forefront in the international political arena with such leaders as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon challenging governments and policymakers worldwide to join hands against climate change.
In addition to his environmental work, Xavier is well known for his creation in the 1960s of the “mail art” or contributory art concept now used globally by contemporary artists. He also is esteemed widely in the U.K. for his abstract watercolours and oils inspired by the dynamic Caribbean weather and for his striking and colorful depictions of the Pitons, which are featured on the book’s cover. The Pitons were granted World Heritage Site status and were cited in O, The Oprah Magazine in 2005 as one of the top five sites in the world to visit during your lifetime.
The book offers an inclusive look at Xavier’s most significant work from the 1960s-including powerful work exploring racism-through the present. It also features Xavier’s second environmental series, Environmental Fragile, which involved conceptual works made entirely from recycled cardboard and ends of commercial paint, and embedded with shards of 24-carat gold representing the millions of trees that have been ground into dust for commercial purposes, the finality of earth’s resources, and the preciousness of our environment. Xavier is currently completing his third series of environmental work titled Global Warning, which has not yet been shown to the public.
“By demonstrating that contemporary art can be created without the use of virgin material, I hope to awaken world consciousness to the wanton destruction of the earth’s environment and its dwindling resources,” says Xavier. “These works aim to warn humankind of impending disaster unless the devastation is stopped immediately.” Inspired by American abstract expressionists as well as impressionists who lived and worked in the Caribbean including Pissarro and Gauguin, Xavier also is greatly influenced by St. Lucia’s natural light, flowers, colors, sunsets and sunrises notes that the island is “unquestionably the most beautiful earthly paradise.”
The British poet, photographer, art critic, and curator Edward Lucie-Smith provides the book’s informative commentary. “Llewellyn Xavier is an outstanding example of the independent spirit of Caribbean art,” says Lucie-Smith, who has authored more than 100 books on art. “Caribbean artists have always been spokespersons for the societies they live in. In this handsome book, people will find the true creative spirit of one of the most beautiful places on earth.”
The book also includes a foreword that places the artist in a historic and global context written by Lowery Stokes Sims, a renowned art historian and curator, who has served as executive director at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, president of The Studio Museum of Harlem, and is currently a curator at The Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
In her foreword, Sims notes: “As the unique aspects of the St. Lucian environment continue to guide and impact the evolution of his imagery, then, Xavier stands as a vital force in the ongoing dialogue of globalism and locality, cultural tourism and cultural sovereignty in the art of the Caribbean.”
Xavier was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2004 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his significant artistic contributions over nearly four decades. His work has been shown at the world’s most prestigious art galleries and institutions and is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Museum of Natural History, all in New York; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge; and in numerous European and Canadian institutions.
Born in St. Lucia, Xavier studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston and has spent more than half his life traveling around the world gaining rich and rewarding visual experiences that continue to influence his work. An active Christian preacher, Xavier currently lives and works in northern St. Lucia with his wife, Christina, continuously creating new work in a magnificent home and studio in Cap Estate and supporting political and environmental issues close to his heart.
The book is available for purchase on South Florida Caribbean News through Amazon.
