"Moods and Expressions of Caribbean Life"
An exhibition by Carlton Murrell

April 13 to May 10,  2002
Flatbush Branch
Caribbean Library & Cultural Center

The pastel hues of Caribbean skies and fields almost shimmer on canvas in Carlton Murrell’s exhibition ‘Moods and Expressions of Caribbean Life,’ on view at the Caribbean Literary and Cultural Center of the Flatbush Branch, 22 Linden Boulevard (718-856-0813) through May 10. As part of a community program, Murrell will give workshops for children on May 2 and teens on May 16. The exhibition and workshops are free and open to the public.

"We’re so pleased to host this exhibition of Mr. Murrell’s work," says Caribbean Literary and Cultural Center Manager Paula Menzies. "The exhibition not only inspires through its sheer beauty, but connects the community with its cultural roots through the light, color and themes of the Caribbean."

With works such as Tropical Landscape, Downtown Market, Fresh Fruits, Pulling Ashore and In the Shade, Murrell creates dreamscapes of the Caribbean -- bringing to life the quivering of the sugarcane leaf in the island breeze and the lavender-blue surface of a rippling lake. An artist who likes to create a range of surface qualities, Murrell’s exhibition contains 23 works in oil, pastel, acrylic and watercolor on canvas.

"As an artist, I’ve had my struggles, but I’ve kept this burning light that I must always be an artist, no matter what," says Murrell. "I love it – and I want my work to convey that."

Murrell started his professional painting career at the age of 18. His desire to explore art beyond his own shores led him to take up residence in the art capital of New York. His talent won him a scholarship to pursue additional advance studies in art at the Art Students League, and later to attend the Pan American School of Fine Arts and Pei’s School of Commercial Art and Illustration.

His work has been widely exhibited in group exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, United Nations International Exhibition and the National African American Museum, Ohio/Boston, as well as solo exhibitions at Satta and Gallery Too in Brooklyn; Studio 5 Art Gallery, Jamaica Art Center and Savacou Gallery in New York; Park House Gallery in Barbados; and Representing Barbados, World Exhibition. He appears in Who’s Who in American Art and Marquis’ Who’s Who in the World.

Murrell has been teaching art since 1990 for such organizations as the Children’s Aid Society, Our Children Foundation, Francis House’s After School Program, Brooklyn Truth Center Art and Culture, and NYC Board of Education’s P.S. 119 "Black History Month’s Special."

Transporting Sugarcane, 1981


In the Lake, 1999


The Gathering, 1998