"Beautiful Monsters" by Jackson Petit-Homme

Last night, Bahamian Artist Jackson Petit walked away with the coveted 1st Place prize of $7,000 at the 2011 Central Bank of The Bahamas’ 28th Annual Art Competition in the Open/Senior Category with his acrylic on canvas painting “Beautiful Monsters.”

The artist explains that he wanted to take an antithetical approach to what you might expect to see from the straightforward title. By juxtaposing the beautiful and the ugly, the holy and the profane, Petit’s commentary suggests that one can not exist without the other and often comes together to create the sublime.

Heino Schmid, Curator of the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Art Gallery, noted, “As curator of The Central Bank of The Bahamas, I am truly excited that this year’s judges selected Jackson’s painting “Beautiful Monsters” as the winning entry. The strength of the painting is evident and will make a wonderful addition to the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ Permanent Collection.

“My personal interest, however, is in seeing how Jackson will utilize the gallery’s invitation for an exhibition in 2012. Jackson Petit-Homme is an artist of undeniable skill and has been an active member of the Bahamian art community through various projects and group exhibitions for a number of years. He is, I believe, in wonderful professional position to really make the most out of a solo exhibition and I am keen to assist him in any way I can on The Central Bank’s behalf, to galvanize a body of work that will prove to be an energetic and compelling addition to the dialogue of the artistic and creative community of The Bahamas.”

Source: Smith & Benjamin’s Bahamian Art & Culture : No. 55 : 10.06.11