Otto Trott's Bermudaful Heritage Exhibition

The Bermuda Society of Arts (BSoA) is thrilled to announce the upcoming solo exhibition of celebrated Bermudian artist, Otto Trott. Known for his captivating plein air landscapes and evocative portraits, Trott's work has long been cherished by residents and visitors alike. His exhibition, titled "Bermudaful Painting's", will showcase the artist's deep connection to the island's natural beauty and vibrant culture.

Alongside "Bermudaful Painting's", the BSoA will also feature "Curves", a solo exhibition exploring the elegance and dynamism of form, and two additional solo exhibitions that promise to enrich the artistic landscape of Bermuda. This diverse collection of artistic voices will provide a unique opportunity to experience the breadth and depth of contemporary art in Bermuda.

Artist Statement

A couple of years ago, I wanted to send a painting, as a gift to someone who lived overseas. I thought it would be simple to find something suitable because I had many landscapes and seascapes of Bermuda in my studio. As it turned out, however, it was very difficult to select one. I wanted the painting to somehow represent Bermuda. And, although I had many paintings that were interesting for me to paint, and hopefully interesting to look at, very few of them really 'said' Bermuda. This surprised me. And I set myself the assignment of purposefully doing some paintings that I decided to call Bermudaful. So what was I looking for? I wanted scenes of typical Bermuda. I wanted to include our architecture, our boats, our water views. And without setting out to simply depict our already iconic symbols, I wanted to record some of our historic Bermudian heritage. This year I turned 70. It seemed a perfect time to have an exhibition of my latest body of work and show what is representative of Bermuda to me. After all, I've been here awhile! The cultural event that I have focused on in this show is the Edward Cross Long Distance Comet Sailboat Race. (Yes, that is a mouthful!) This Comet race has been held in Bermuda since 1944. The race was held on the Queen's Birthday Holiday. The date remains the same, but it is now referred to as Bermuda Heroes Day. The new popular event is the Carnival, but the Comet race predates the Carnival by 71 years! So, in my estimation, the Comet race is a more authentic and time honoured representation of a Bermudian tradition. So I decided to paint it. Spectators used to flock to the shoreline from one end of Bermuda to the other for this event. The race sailboats would be followed by a fleet of spectator boats. It was a sight to behold and I have eight paintings of this event in this show. My other paintings give attention to our historic architecture, our light, some very familiar, colourful vistas and one or two rusty old relics! Each painting has its own story. I look forward to sharing them with you and I hope that many of you will find something here to treasure. Something that means Bermuda to you. As I said in the beginning, I set out to do paintings that would make meaningful gifts. I hope I have succeeded, so that just in time for Christmas you can have, or give, something special, valuable and lasting that will 'say' Bermuda to you!

About the Artist

Otto Trott is a Bermudian artist who paints Bermuda and Bermudian life. In 2023 he received a Bermuda National Trust Cultural Heritage Award for documenting Bermuda's cultural heritage in his art. In 2024 he received the
award for Design & Composition at the Charman Prize exhibition and The Chesley Trott Cedar Award at The Serjeant's Cup, Marine Art Prize exhibition. Otto has not seen much Bermudian life realistically depicted in Bermudian art history. His ambition is to fill that gap. He has a YouTube channel where he talks about his subject matter or painting process. In 1975 he began to exhibit his art at Bermuda Society of Arts and was an art teacher for 8 years. He received a BFA in painting from Maryland Institute College of Art in 1986. He is having a solo exhibition Bermudaful Heritage at Bermuda Society of Arts from October 18 November 12, 2024.