Stan Burnside’s Lyrical “Blacks & the Blues”: Deep Chords of Sorrow and Marginality, Sweet Melodies of Triumph.

© Patricia Glinton-Meicholas 2024

With his Blacks and the Blues, artist Stan Burnside, a devoted son of The Bahamas takes an unvarnished look at Bahamian heritage and culture today. In equal measure, he posits issues of gender and race-based inequalities and inequities, all impacted by the two-faced issues and realities of modern life at home and universally. Evident in the messaging are deep contrasts—the heavenly and hellish, beauty and bigotry, hope and despair that leap across purposefully constructed race and gender divisions and barriers.

On the canvases of Blacks and the Blues (about twenty or so), we can discern Burnside’s deeply felt view on these persistent and daunting challenges. Clear also are his animating principles, deep thought and mystical command of line and color, all bound up in the artist’s unique brand of surrealism. These new works prove gripping and unforgettable on a multiplicity of levels. Readily perceived is unity of thought, beauty of form and style, sustained by wordplay in titles, poetic metaphors in paint and the canny juxtaposition of elements on the canvases. All told, these gripping mind teasers invite art and mystery lovers to engage a delightful and memorable voyage of discovery.