New Year's Day in the Quarry (Marl Hole),

2006

From 1983 until his death, Hendricks made annual visits to Jamaica and painted views of the local landscape, using the en plein air method and the intimacy of the tondo (rounded) frame. Here we are shown the carbonate-rich geology of a marl quarry that Hendricks visited several times, as the artist was deeply interested in the aesthetic possibilities of these areas after they had undergone industrial excavation. Notice how the gradations of color evoke the natural geography of the area: there is loose, textured soil, then smooth mudstone cliffs, and finally an inviting sliver of ocean. We are drawn through intersecting planes, between earthen formations and dramatic vistas, as Hendricks observes the landscape’s distinctive topography while creating a sense of immediacy. And finally, as we move through the area, we also observe Hendricks’s compositional experimentation, watching as the landscape’s natural features materialize its sculptural possibilities.

Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Associate Professor of Art and Archaeology and African American Studies, Princeton University