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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Stanwyck E. Cromwell was born in Georgetown, Guyana, and is a
second-generation artist. He inherited his artistic gift from both of
his parents. In addition, Cromwell credits much of his growth to his
cousin and mentor, Maurice C. Jacobs, a noted Guyanese artist, who
nurtured him, and was resourceful in laying the foundation for his
artistic development. Cromwell graduated from the former British
Guiana Educational Trust High School, with high honors in art and
other foreign languages, and was employed at Guyana Lithographic
Company, as a graphic artist. During his time of employment at that
company, he met and worked alongside well-known Guyanese artist Angold
Thompson.
In 1970, he migrated to the United States of America, in pursuit of an
art career, and has lived and worked in Bloomfield, Connecticut, for
the past thirty-seven years. Cromwell earned a Bachelors of Arts
degree in Applied Arts, from Charter Oak State College and also a
Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the University of
Hartford. His memories of Guyana are rich and abundant, but the most
striking are the physical and aesthetic differences between the
Caribbean and the United States of America as they pertain to art.
Such artists as Cuban painter Wifredo Lam, African American artist,
Loïs Mailou Jones and Surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, influenced
some of his earlier works. His current work is two-fold in composition
and is a fusion of his earlier and new works. Cromwell refers to his
current works as his Transitional Series, because they are hybrids of
both old and new ideas, intersecting at cultural crossroads.
Saturated colors, patterns and textures show themselves in his
collages, sculptures, paintings, and drawings. The movement and
vibrancy of his colors are like an aesthetic chess game, where one
movement affects the other. Cromwell uses a combination of figurative,
abstract, and surrealistic art forms, in addition with symbols and
metaphors. The most frequently used, is the black-eye-pea, which he
associates with his culinary Guyanese heritage. In other cases,
Cromwell associates the black-eyed pea with the racial make up of the
United States, as it pertains to majority and minority. Other symbols
include seashells, fish-like faces and rippled water-like patterns,
which are symbolic of the ocean. In addition he uses multiple
overlays, to created depth and imaginary mindscapes. His work is very
energetic and commands the attention of the viewer. View artist's resume
(pdf)
View larger format and additional work at
www.flickr.com/photos/stancromwell
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