Gatherings: Roger Ferreira and Kareem-Anthony Ferreira

This major exhibition by Hamilton-based father and son artists Roger Ferreira (b. 1961) and Kareem-Anthony Ferreira (b. 1989) features over 30 paintings spanning Roger’s 35-year career, and highlights the accomplishments of Kareem’s emerging practice. Hailing from Trinidad, though born in Winnipeg, Roger and his family arrived in Hamilton in the late 1980s and he quickly established himself in the arts community, taking on public mural projects, and working with children and youth to share his skills and artistic vision. He founded a downtown artist co-op and regularly worked with other artists to support exhibition practices in Hamilton. Having taught at Columbia College and in the Catholic school system for over 15 years, he has also built a substantive career as an art teacher in this city.

For Roger, this exhibition serves as a retrospective – spanning the major developments and themes in his approach to painting over the years, including his focus on family and Black culture, the landscapes of Canada and Trinidad, activism, and spirituality.

Kareem was born in 1989 in Hamilton and studied fine art at McMaster University before completing his MFA at the University of Arizona in 2020. In his impressive large-scale oil paintings, he revisits family trips to Trinidad. Working from old photos often taken during these family gatherings, Kareem builds richly textured images that reflect his experience of feeling rooted in two homelands: Hamilton and Trinidad.

Now represented by leading international galleries in Los Angeles, New York, Brussels and Toronto, and with a prestigious and growing list of private collectors, this is a much-anticipated large-scale exhibition of Kareem’s recent work.

Kareem and Roger came up with the title Gatherings to reflect on how they are both supported and inspired by their communities and families. Were it not for people coming together, this exhibition, and indeed their practices, would not be possible.