Donald Locke Solo exhibition at Spike Island

About

Spike Island presents the first major survey exhibition of Guyanese artist Donald Locke (1930–2010). Locke was born and raised in Guyana and first moved to the UK in the 1950s to study at Bath Academy of Art and Edinburgh School of Art. He then lived between London and Georgetown for the next twenty years, before settling in the United States in the late 1970s.

The exhibition at Spike Island explores the development of his work across Guyana, the UK and the United States over five decades, from the late 1960s to the early 2000s. It features early ceramics that evoke human and natural forms, alongside mixed-media sculptures and monochromatic black paintings from the 1970s. Also included are several large-scale paintings from the 1990s that incorporate found images, ceramic elements and crocodile skins. These materials reflect Locke’s evolving approach to the use of different media, his formal ingenuity and the growing influence of African American vernacular art and iconography, following his relocation to the United States.

Free entry