THE CAT is about to be let out of the bag!
Jorge Bowen Forbes has a big surprise in store for art lovers. The artist, who is known for his watercolours, will have an exhibition in May… with no watercolour works!

He has been putting together a never-before-viewed body of work titled ‘Remembering Guiana’ which will feature scenes from his recollection of pre-Independence Guyana. This show will be Jorge’s introduction to Guyana.

A member of the American Watercolour Society (AWS), the National Watercolour and the National Watercolour Society  (of the United States), the artist has had independent shows in Mexico, Barbados, Australia and Britain.
He made his unexpected entry into the world when his mom, who hails from Kitty, was headed to the Georgetwon Hospital to give birth to him, but never did make it as she instead gave birth to him in a house along the way.  He spent the first ten years of his life in Kitty, and another six elsewhere before leaving for the United States where he has been living for the past 43 years.

Seeing that he was already Guyana’s Number One watercolorist when he left these shores, Jorge says when he arrived in the US, he was somewhat “swell-headed.” But after being rejected by the AWS   for three years in succession, he decided to go to New York to see shows of accepted paintings. When he saw the show, he says, he came to realise why his work was being rejected: It was “not even close” to the quality of the other works in the exhibition.

Determined to get ahead, he set himself to work to bring himself to the level. Wholly self- taught, Jorge did a lot of reading and studying of pictures of the established old masters such as Raphael, Rembrandt and Da Vinci.  His hard work paid off. He was rewarded with an acceptance after three years, winning the ‘Gold Medal of Honour (1978) and two other gold medals.

After this success, Jorge made the decision to go contemporary. Three years later, he won the ‘Silver Medal of Honour’ (1978) and two more gold medals. Then in 1984, he won the ‘High Winds Award’. 

Jorge comes from an artistic home.  As a small child, he used to get spanked for taking pencils and messing up the walls, until he was given a drawing book. But it turned out that his siblings (two brothers and a sister) were actually better artists than he, an observation that was made by Mr Basil Hinds, his art teacher at the Comenius  Moravian School in Queenstown. Whether that is true or not, no one can really say, but it was Jorge that had the persevering drive. So his eldest brother became a mechanic, his sister a seamstress, and his younger brother an accountant. His mother, he recalled, was his worst critic as she made such comments as: “What’s an artist?” and “You’re no Rembrandt!”

Jorge’s only academic training was a primary education at the said Comenius Moravian at reference. He and his siblings didn’t miss one day of school, even if they were sick. He was once referred to by a teacher as a student who had never seen the moon because his mother didn’t allow him out after dark.

Their mother insisted that they read, which is how he came to love Shakespeare and the Classics. Jorge says most artists who were tutored reflect the work of their teacher. Being self-taught has helped him to sort out his own style.  His work is totally fresh and invented, he is proud to say.

Other works

Jorge is also recognized internationally as a poet, with his most known a piece titled ‘Forever Will Thee’, which is dedicated to someone who has departed this life. He has plans of entering the Guyana Prize for Literature; he has five books under his belt, including ‘Kaituma: The Escape from Jonestown’. His latest literary work is a book about relationships and addiction titled, ‘Addicts’.

The work is based on a relationship he was in, whereby he was so “addicted” to a woman, who was in turn addicted to drugs, he was unable to let her go.

Be sure to keep abreast of the exhibitions at Castellani House during the month of May so you wouldn’t miss out.

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