PALM DESERT, CA.- Visual artist Bernard Hoyes is presenting “
Spirit of the Land Through Climate Change,” an exhibition of large scale watercolor paintings that speaks to the ecological life of the Desert. The works evokes beauty and spirituality, ultimately observing the transmogrification by climate changeover the past ten years. The exhibition is on view at the San Bernardino County Museum from November 17, 2019, through March 8, 2020.
Hoyes’ watercolor subjects respond to the precarious state of the natural environment of the Coachella Valley through a personal lens, experimenting with form and narrative in the water pigments. Large paintings from an Intuitive perspective, also reveals a controlled recession of details, plane after plane, allowing the observer to wander into the picture space for a vicarious experience of nature. He addresses how the ideology of loving the environment, means as much to technology and industry, their progression. Inviting the viewer to observe conservation elements, to be the steward of changes that technology and Industry has on the impact on all living things.
A multi-disciplinary artist, Hoyes is a Coachella Valley resident, Jamaican born, African-American, primarily recognized as a contemporary painter whose work evolves from a highly intuitive space. He is heralded for his ability to capture spiritual realms on canvas in radiant and brilliant essence. He inspires the viewer to transcend into new dimensions, and regardless of the genre, all of his work has an undercurrent of spirituality.
Raised into a family rooted in Jamaica's revivalist church, Hoyes memories of religion and rituals have influenced his artistic productivity throughout his life. His celebration of traditional African religion and spirituality continues to find universal appeal, exciting audiences worldwide. Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Cole, Steve Harvey, Helene Galen, Keenan Ivory Wayans and the National Urban League are among his collectors. Selections of Hoyes' work have been featured in several television shows including the Showtime cult classic series, Different Worlds and "Dexter."
Hoyes’ exhibition history spans over 50 years with over 100 exhibitions, 30 of them solo exhibitions, in various countries including his native Jamaica, USA, UK, The Netherlands, and Germany. Some of Hoyes’ past exhibitions include “Places and Validation, Art & Progression, The Getty Initiative Pacific Standard Time” in 2010; the “Art in LA 1945-1980” at CAAM in 2011; a feature in “L.A. Rising: SoCal Artists before 1980,” published by the Getty Foundation.
Los Angeles 2012, Hoyes produced “Se7en Paintings, a Multidisciplinary Performance” which brought Hoyes’ art to life, thru Dance, Music, and Pantomime on the Ford Amphitheatre Stage. Most recent exhibits include “Evolving Art Practice, Rags to the Revival Series” at the Museum of African American Art (MAAA) in 2017. He co-curator “Visual Voice” at the Riverside Art Museum in 2016; Curated “Evolving Abstraction, 3 Contemporary Artists of the African Diaspora” at the Palm Springs Art Museum in Feb. 2015; and “The Spirit of the Land,” at the Desert Art Collection in Palm Desert, California, in 2015.
Among his mural projects of late, he completed a large-scale mural on the exterior wall Church of St. Paul’s in downtown Palm Springs, which was commissioned by the Church’s Pastor Andrew Green and the Palm Springs Art Commission. Another most recent mural was unveiled on November 25, 2018, in Kingston, Jamaica as part of the Kingston Creative, an organization that has managed to secure local corporate sponsorship for its ongoing #PaintTheCity mural project, to revitalize the downtown. He has also been very involved with the Los Angeles Citywide Mural program.
Other most recent notable projects include Hoyes serving on the Black History Committee bringing a “Bridging Communities Photography Project” together in collaboration with the City of Palm Springs, and hosted at the Palm Springs Art Museum in 2016; also in 2016, An Artist in Residence at the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, Hoyes was the inaugural artist to kick-off the Inn’s rotating artist in residency program, his acclaimed watercolors were featured.
