Painter, Sculptor and Religious Revivalist. Jamaican National Hero.
Mallica "Kapo" Reynolds was known to most Jamaicans simply as Kapo, a cultural force who played an indelible role in the defining of Jamaican art – particularly the so-called Intuitive or Self-Taught genre – of the second half of the twentieth century. He was born in the Byndloss district of St. Catherine, thirty miles from Kingston. As a young man in the early 1930s, he claimed to have religious visions that led him to Kingston where he settled in Trench Town and established the Zion Revival church. In Trench Town in the mid-forties he began translating his religious visions and his imaginative transcriptions of biblical events into paintings. Most of these early works, it is said, were lost when they were confiscated by the police as evidence of illegal Obeah religious practice. Within a few years, Kapo had developed into a fine landscape painter and was fond of depicting the environment of his childhood, the hills and valleys of the St. Catherine region. By 1950 he began to sculpt, first in stone and then in wood. Much of his early works were elemental depictions of his cultural environment, including portraits of those around him. Kapo, along with the late Sidney McLaren and Brother Everald Brown, led a group of artists referred to as the ‘Intuitives' or ‘Primatives.' This group of artists tried to capture on canvas or in wood, the spirit or living forces behind objects and situations. Kapo's works have been exhibited widely both at home and abroad. He held exhibitions in New York in 1953, 1969 and 1982; Los Angeles 1964 and 1968; and in Washington D.C. in 1972. His works also form a part of the permanent collection of the Jamaican National Gallery. In 1981, Kapo's painting "Shining Spring" was chosen as a wedding gift to Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer from the Government and people of Jamaica. "Shining Spring" was selected by the Institute of Jamaica, along with the Office of the Prime Minister because it was felt to be representative of true Jamaican art. By the time of his death in 1989, he had gained recognition as one of the most significant Jamaican artists of the twentieth century and one of the world's leading ‘Intuitives.'
Mallica "Kapo" Reynolds was known to most Jamaicans simply as Kapo, a cultural force who played an indelible role in the defining of Jamaican art – particularly the so-called Intuitive or Self-Taught genre – of the second half of the twentieth century. He was born in the Byndloss district of St. Catherine, thirty miles from Kingston. As a young man in the early 1930s, he claimed to have religious visions that led him to Kingston where he settled in Trench Town and established the Zion Revival church. In Trench Town in the mid-forties he began translating his religious visions and his imaginative transcriptions of biblical events into paintings. Most of these early works, it is said, were lost when they were confiscated by the police as evidence of illegal Obeah religious practice. Within a few years, Kapo had developed into a fine landscape painter and was fond of depicting the environment of his childhood, the hills and valleys of the St. Catherine region. By 1950 he began to sculpt, first in stone and then in wood. Much of his early works were elemental depictions of his cultural environment, including portraits of those around him. Kapo, along with the late Sidney McLaren and Brother Everald Brown, led a group of artists referred to as the ‘Intuitives' or ‘Primatives.' This group of artists tried to capture on canvas or in wood, the spirit or living forces behind objects and situations. Kapo's works have been exhibited widely both at home and abroad. He held exhibitions in New York in 1953, 1969 and 1982; Los Angeles 1964 and 1968; and in Washington D.C. in 1972. His works also form a part of the permanent collection of the Jamaican National Gallery. In 1981, Kapo's painting "Shining Spring" was chosen as a wedding gift to Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer from the Government and people of Jamaica. "Shining Spring" was selected by the Institute of Jamaica, along with the Office of the Prime Minister because it was felt to be representative of true Jamaican art. By the time of his death in 1989, he had gained recognition as one of the most significant Jamaican artists of the twentieth century and one of the world's leading ‘Intuitives.'
Painter, Sculptor and Religious Revivalist. Jamaican National Hero.
Mallica "Kapo" Reynolds was known to most Jamaicans simply as Kapo, a cultural force who played an indelible role in the defining of Jamaican art – particularly the so-called Intuitive or Self-Taught genre – of the second half of the twentieth century. He was born in the Byndloss district of St. Catherine, thirty miles from Kingston. As a young man in the early 1930s, he claimed to have religious visions that led him to Kingston where he settled in Trench Town and established the Zion Revival church. In Trench Town in the mid-forties he began translating his religious visions and his imaginative transcriptions of biblical events into paintings. Most of these early works, it is said, were lost when they were confiscated by the police as evidence of illegal Obeah religious practice. Within a few years, Kapo had developed into a fine landscape painter and was fond of depicting the environment of his childhood, the hills and valleys of the St. Catherine region. By 1950 he began to sculpt, first in stone and then in wood. Much of his early works were elemental depictions of his cultural environment, including portraits of those around him. Kapo, along with the late Sidney McLaren and Brother Everald Brown, led a group of artists referred to as the ‘Intuitives' or ‘Primatives.' This group of artists tried to capture on canvas or in wood, the spirit or living forces behind objects and situations. Kapo's works have been exhibited widely both at home and abroad. He held exhibitions in New York in 1953, 1969 and 1982; Los Angeles 1964 and 1968; and in Washington D.C. in 1972. His works also form a part of the permanent collection of the Jamaican National Gallery. In 1981, Kapo's painting "Shining Spring" was chosen as a wedding gift to Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer from the Government and people of Jamaica. "Shining Spring" was selected by the Institute of Jamaica, along with the Office of the Prime Minister because it was felt to be representative of true Jamaican art. By the time of his death in 1989, he had gained recognition as one of the most significant Jamaican artists of the twentieth century and one of the world's leading ‘Intuitives.'
Mallica "Kapo" Reynolds was known to most Jamaicans simply as Kapo, a cultural force who played an indelible role in the defining of Jamaican art – particularly the so-called Intuitive or Self-Taught genre – of the second half of the twentieth century. He was born in the Byndloss district of St. Catherine, thirty miles from Kingston. As a young man in the early 1930s, he claimed to have religious visions that led him to Kingston where he settled in Trench Town and established the Zion Revival church. In Trench Town in the mid-forties he began translating his religious visions and his imaginative transcriptions of biblical events into paintings. Most of these early works, it is said, were lost when they were confiscated by the police as evidence of illegal Obeah religious practice. Within a few years, Kapo had developed into a fine landscape painter and was fond of depicting the environment of his childhood, the hills and valleys of the St. Catherine region. By 1950 he began to sculpt, first in stone and then in wood. Much of his early works were elemental depictions of his cultural environment, including portraits of those around him. Kapo, along with the late Sidney McLaren and Brother Everald Brown, led a group of artists referred to as the ‘Intuitives' or ‘Primatives.' This group of artists tried to capture on canvas or in wood, the spirit or living forces behind objects and situations. Kapo's works have been exhibited widely both at home and abroad. He held exhibitions in New York in 1953, 1969 and 1982; Los Angeles 1964 and 1968; and in Washington D.C. in 1972. His works also form a part of the permanent collection of the Jamaican National Gallery. In 1981, Kapo's painting "Shining Spring" was chosen as a wedding gift to Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer from the Government and people of Jamaica. "Shining Spring" was selected by the Institute of Jamaica, along with the Office of the Prime Minister because it was felt to be representative of true Jamaican art. By the time of his death in 1989, he had gained recognition as one of the most significant Jamaican artists of the twentieth century and one of the world's leading ‘Intuitives.'
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
