In Tuesday, The Gallery at Fine Art at the corner Rosalino and Warren Streets, Woodbrook, will host an exhibition of the recent works by local artist Makemba Kunle.

This latest series, Makemba 2009, represents a coming together of various approaches, directions and experiments undertaken over the last 40 years, this time with a concentration on draughtsmanship (pen and ink being a favoured medium), and efficient resolution, if not dispatch, while still maintaining the spontaneity of the brush strokes for which he is known.

Some of these experiments include:

- Drawing novel ways of expression out of the well-spring of Caribbean history, traditions and environment.

- Investigating techniques of surface treatment, layering, etc, for transparency, translucency, and other-worldliness.

- Experiments involving concealment and exploration of negative spaces.

- The weaving of strokes and patterns to suggest forms the non-separateness of things.

- The painting inside the painting.

- Using Carnival and mas as a standard and a guide in the development of style and in the resolution of painting issues, also as a reservoir of cultural archetypes and icons.

This exhibition can be viewed as a culmination of those experiments or as a continuation. In either case, one finds the work a little more accessible as content and composition assume greater focus and, moreover, Kunle continues to set standards to challenge those to come.

Kunle emerged as one of the most progressive visual artists in the Caribbean during the early 1970s. The consciousness movement at that time played a major part in influencing his progressive style of art.

Born at Old St Joseph Road in Laventille on August 14, 1950, Kunle grew up in Barataria. A former St Mary’s College student, he was trained as a teacher at the Mausica Teachers Training College at Valsayn, Kunle always had the burning desire within his soul for expression of his creative talent of visual art.

Growing up in a community where the artistry of Trinidad Carnival culture flourishes, his art was influenced by the power and magnificence of Trinidad Carnival.

As Kunle himself admitted, ’I always had this feeling for art inside of me, so I taught myself everything I wanted to know about art.’

Kunle found the ideal habitat for the development of his artistic perspective when he served as NJAC’s artistic director for over 20 years. It was he who was the mind which produced the backdrops and artistic work for all of the organisation’s cultural productions.

Kunle has also contributed to the formation and administration of artistic institutions such as the Caribbean Arts Community and Studio 66 Art Support Community, which is based at his Barataria home.

He has also impacted in the field of art by his high quality stage and set designs, Carnival costume designs, portraits, formal theatre designs, graphic illustrations and publication cover designs for leading Caribbean writers.

Kunle’s creative mind has also ventured into the area of writing and, so far, he has produced two books of his own, entitled A Collection of Illustrated Short Stories and The Caterpillar Who Wanted to Fly.

This gifted artist has also contributed to the wider national community through a number of initiatives, including his 1997 involvement as the artist-in-residence at the Pamberi Pan Theatre in San Juan, when he tutored youths in the theory and practice of artistic skills.

The magnitude of Kunle’s work manifests itself by the volume of work he has produced for the many exhibitions he has held over the years.

This creative gem of our Trinidad and Tobago soil continues to work as artist-in-residence at Studio 66 in Barataria, and is currently preparing for his ninth solo exhibition to be showcased later this year.