Guyanese-born artist Hezron Henry, one of the most acclaimed painters on the Turks and Caicos Islands' visual arts scene, is profiled this week in Weekly News' "Brushstrokes & Beyond" series, saying he wants his work to fill a gap left by centuries of Western art that rarely featured Black or Caribbean faces. "I focus on culturally representative Caribbean themes, to create a connection for Caribbean people to see themselves in my art," he tells the paper.
Henry began summer classes at Georgetown's Burrowes School of Art at six and moved to TCI at 12. He launched his professional career 10 years ago and, while working full-time for InvestTCI, estimates he has created hundreds of paintings, sold through his website and a Bermuda-based gallery. He is proudest of 'Communion', a 2023 piece painted partly by his then four-year-old daughter, which earned a curators' pick after he uploaded it to the marketplace Artsy. He is critical of artificial intelligence in art, arguing prompters "are not artists" and that AI borrows other artists' styles.
Henry, who lives in Blue Hills with his wife Havana and their two children, says TCI needs a stronger artistic ecosystem, more exhibitions and recognition of visual art as intellectual property. Readers can follow him on Instagram @hezron_1 or at www.hezronh.com.