Artists from across the islands are set to showcase their work next week for Cayman Art Week – and among them will be Yonier Powery.
His sculptures and paintings will be on display at optometrists Optique at Queens Court Plaza on West Bay Road throughout the festival, which runs from 20 to 25 May.
Although a skilled painter, Powery’s main focus and passion today is ceramic sculpture.
The 42-year-old’s work is often inspired by the sea, at times examining the interactions between man and marine life and the daily struggle for survival.
Many have an element of surrealism, like the fisherman standing on the giant shell of a soldier crab as he tries to reel it in with a fishing line.
They also have a sense of being from another time – both in what they portray and but also their look and feel.
“I like them to have a kind of old and rusty feel, a bit like antiques,’ he says.
“I’m fascinated by time – so I thought how can I create something where people can see time passing?”
He prefers to feature older people in his work, which again, he says, links to this idea of passing time.
But he adds: “I also just connect very well with older people. Most of my clients are older.
“I’ve always had a bit of an old soul myself – people used to say I did when I was a kid.”
Powery’s love of sculpting with clay started when he was a young boy living on Isla de la Juventud, off the coast of Cuba.
The island is rich in clay mines and his mother worked in a ceramics factory, where he’d often visit.
“The factory would offer [give] help to local artists, providing material and a space where they could work.
“So, I’d go and watch these people do these amazing sculptures, and I thought, you know what, I want to be an artist.”
But Powery’s life took a bit of a different direction for a while.
“I actually ended up going to ballet school when I was about 14 and did that for three years before deciding I wanted to join the circus,” he explains.
“I went to Havana to take the entrance test for the National Circus School there but didn’t get in. That’s when I turned my mind back to art.”
In 1998 he joined an artist’s studio on Isla de la Juventud where he was taught the basics of painting and drawing, and after a year took and passed the entrance exam for a four-year course at the island’s Wifredo Lam’s Professional Academy of Arts.
“I learned so much there – drawing, painting, ceramics, metal sculptures. It was an amazing time, I was so happy,” he says.
After graduating and a short period teaching at the art school, Powery did his mandatory military service in Cuba but was released 18 months into his 24-month post for good behaviour.
He returned to his teaching for a year, before taking up a position at a resort as a decorator and artist, painting murals throughout the hotel and honing various painting techniques in the process.
In 2009, Powery paid a life-changing visit to the Cayman Islands, where his Caymanian father and extended family were based.
Part of the draw was his family, and the fact he met “a wonderful lady” who later became his wife.
But he also loved the quietness of the islands compared to the busyness of Cuba, and says it helped him focus on his art.
He decided to make the islands his permanent home and settled in Grand Cayman.
Today, he splits his time working in his studio and as a warehouse assistant at Jacques Scott Wines & Spirits, with the latter helping to supplement what he makes from selling his art.
Three of his pieces are on display at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands and he’s excited about sharing more of his work at next week’s Cayman Art Week, including a new turtle sculpture called Resilient.
“This is the third time I’ve taken part. I didn’t do it last year – I decided I just wanted to go around and enjoy everyone else’s work. But I’m looking forward to it.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for Cayman artists. Being an artist here is tough – there aren’t many collectors.
“People are often looking for something that, you know, matches the sofa or whatever. And that’s not something I’m thinking of when I create my art.
“My art has to come from me and not made specifically to fit a look or a house. But when people do buy it, it means so much because they love it for what it is. It’s an amazing feeling to know that.”
Powery’s exhibition at Optique will launch with a preview evening open to the public from 7pm-10pm on Tuesday, 20 May.
For more information on the many other artists taking part in Cayman Art Week and the galleries and pop ups showcasing visit the Cayman Art Week website or Instagram page.
