The National Gallery of Jamaica reflects on the life of Jamaican artist Keith “Uhuru” Reece, who passed away on April 30. Uhuru hailed from the parish of Trelawny and pursued part-time studies at Jamaica School of Art and studied briefly at the Art Students League, New York.
Though a multi-disciplinary artist, he was renowned as a sculptural ceramist, a practice of ceramics that is known for expressive, even unconventional, forms in clay. Uhuru’s clay forms were dynamic, colourful, fantastical and often provocative. Other key stylistic features of his ceramic work include his very bold, sometimes textured application of paint colour, and the integration of other media such as crushed egg shells.
His conceptual and aesthetic vision was multicultural in scope. Throughout his practice, he produced a diverse range of works with strong iconographic references to Caribbean, Latin American, African, and Asian indigenous and ancient cultures.
Uhuru was well respected in local and international creative communities, and is well represented in private and public collections. Two of his artworks – Chinese Dog (n.d.) and Egypt: The Gateway to Africa (2014) – are a part of the NGJ’s Permanent Collection. He participated in several NGJ exhibitions over the years, significantly the former Annual National, National Biennial and Jamaica Biennial series, as well as the landmark exhibition Clay and Fire: Ceramic Art in Jamaica (2005). His last showing at the institution was at the Jamaica Biennial 2017 exhibition, with the artworks Fertility Mask (2017) and Ancestral Mask (2017).
In his artworks, Uhuru has left important legacies for the benefit of practising and aspiring Jamaican artists. The Board, Management and Staff of the NGJ reiterates condolences to Uhuru’s family and friends, during this time of bereavement.