Born and raised in Jamaica, and now currently living in the US, painter Bryan McFarlane maintains strong ties to his Jamaican cultural roots and Maroon ancestry. Runaway slaves who banded together against the white British colonials, the Jamaican Maroon community kept the oral, artistic, and historic traditions of their West African heritage alive. Drawing from the deep well of his identity as a source for his work, the artist looks to his upbringing and culture as a foundation of potency and strength.

A stunning group exhibition, Inside Ed was one of Broadway Galley’s highlights of the year. Featuring an exciting group of extraordinary international artists, and curated by the visionary Tchera Niyego, Inside Ed included D. Chaim Smith, Christopher Gordon, Ugur Kunst, Marie-Jose Vielot, Anna VanMatre, and Ilana Dayan Zadik.

With photography, I record my daily activities, such as listening to music, going to movies, shopping, gallery hopping, and chatting. Taking photographs is a necessity in my life. It’s as natural as eating and sleeping.

Starting with canvas board, the artist composes unplanned compositions stemming from his unconscious and his dreams, compositions he often fully visualizes while he sleeps. Often centralized around the motif of the circle—or for Doolittle, the mandala—these visionary acrylic images combine repeated patterning of circles and rectilinear components, resulting in dramatic designs that produce interesting optical effects on the eye.