Exploring cultural and personal symbolism as it relates to the human condition, Omar Richardson makes his postgraduate debut at the Wm Turner gallery.

Focusing on what is lurking beneath the surface and views it from a more objective, rather than subjective viewpoint, Omar’s monoprints and woodcuts capture and illustrate what has been going on in life’s journey, illuminating family, personal and physical issues. Omar has also expanded upon these concepts through the use of photography, advancing his work, capturing a different series and a complex world that reflects his experiences, and immersing himself in all of the cultural emotions through text as a patent and detail of his work. It is through this windstorm of emotions that he finds his voice and pushes his work even further, as he journeys through love lost, friendships and most of all, the pain, reflection and memories of death that reveal both the frailty and the strength of the human condition.

Omar Melvin Richardson was born May 5, 1982 in Nassau, Bahamas in an area called Bain Town also known as West Street. While attending C.R. Walker Secondary School in Nassau, he discovered and developed his love for art. At C.R. Walker, he was greatly encouraged by his teacher, Mrs. Ashe, to pursue art. After high school, he continued onto the College of the Bahamas, where he studied painting and ceramics. While attending the College of the Bahamas, his professors Mrs. Maycock and Mrs. Behagg encouraged him to further his education abroad. He then transferred to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where he completed a B.F.A. in painting and a minor in printmaking. He is currently attending graduate school at the SCAD Atlanta campus where he is completing his M.F.A. in printmaking and an M.A. in commercial photography.

Omar Richardson’s first art show/auction with well-known Bahamian artist Chad Pratt was at the age of sixteen. Mr. Richardson’s art was displayed in the Central bank of the Bahamas from 1999 to 2004. In 2007 he won the Central Bank of the Bahamas Annual Art Competition. His first solo art show was in 2000 at the College of the Bahamas. His solo exhibitions include “Similar Differences II” in the Pro gallery at the College of the Bahamas and a show in the City Trust Bank boardroom in 2002. In 2007- 2008 Mr. Richardson’s was a featured artist at Shop SCAD in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. He was the first SCAD student to be invited to Highpoint’s Center for Printmaking first invitational exhibit in Minneapolis, MN, which was held Feb. 8 – March 5, 2008. His experience also includes participation in numerous group exhibitions from 1999 to 2009.