<Bz50>Drawing upon the genius of artists
International artist and writer Gerard Haggerty will be coming to Bermuda under the patronage of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones for a lecture at the Masterworks Foundation of Bermuda Art.
The lecture entitled “Genius: How To Define It and How to Achieve It” will take place at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) on November 24.
Mr. Haggerty’s work has been featured in the XXIII American Drawing Biennial, the XXIV American Drawing Biennial, the Smithsonian Institution’s Contemporary American Drawings IV and Contemporary American Drawings V and won the Purchase Prize.
His one-person exhibitions have taken place at the Space Gallery in Los Angeles and the Dome Gallery in New York City.
The artist’s work is included in the collections of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Laguna Museum of Art and the Portland Art Museum.
Some of his work is also held in the private collections of Hollywood thespians such as Michael Douglas, Kirk Douglas, Jack Nicholson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and others.
Mr. Haggerty has taught at numerous colleges across the US including the New York Academy of Art, Fashion Institute of Technology, Bowdoin College and at the University of California.
He currently teaches at Brooklyn College and City University of New York. He also writes for ARTnews.
His work has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation.
Of this lecture, Mr. Haggerty said: “Drawing upon examples by a wide variety of artists, this illustrated lecture will examine what constitutes that elusive and prized category known as ‘genius’, and those works produced by geniuses, which we call ‘masterpieces’.
“Why do some paintings and sculptures become timeless? How have certain painters such as Giotto, Picasso, and Caravaggio, fulfilled Robert Hughes injunction that, ‘There was art before them, and art after them, and they were not the same?’
“And how can the rest of us tap that wellspring of inspiration that Charles Baudelaire cited when he proclaimed, ‘Genius is the ability to recapture childhood at will.’”
Masterworks director Tom Butterfield said the group will be holding more lectures in the coming months.
“Leading up to the opening of the new Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, we plan to bring other international artists to the Island in the coming months to give lectures to art enthusiasts on a range of topics,” he said.
“All proceeds from the art talk will go to free, four-day art workshops called, ‘Arts For All’, which are taught by local artists and Masterworks staff over the Christmas holiday.
“After the lecture, attendees will have a chance to meet the artist.”
Doors open at 5.30 p.m., lecture at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for Masterworks members and $20 for non-members. For tickets please
To learn more about Mr. Haggerty visit www.gerardhaggerty.com.
