Paul Dash's Carnival Paintings Propose Permanent Collective Being at London Exhibition
The exhibition 'Dancing in the Street' by Paul Dash is on display at Felix & Spear in London until 8 March 2026. This showcase features lively artworks that challenge traditional Western hierarchies in favor of communal experiences. Originally from Barbados and residing in the UK since his youth, Dash has delved into the theme of carnival for over sixty years, drawing inspiration from the Caribbean Artists Movement of the 1960s and 70s. His pieces, such as 'Dancing in the Street' (1961) and 'Want Fi Goh Rave' (2025), illustrate crowded scenes from above, highlighting asymmetry. Unlike earlier crowd artists, Dash removes perspective and individual prominence. His 2021 work 'Freedom Come' alludes to Afro-diasporic customs, suggesting that carnival embodies a continuous celebration of collective joy.
Key facts
- Paul Dash's exhibition 'Dancing in the Street' is on view at Felix & Spear in London through 8 March 2026.
- Dash was born in Barbados and moved to the UK at age eleven, later joining the Caribbean Artists Movement in the 1960s and 70s.
- His paintings depict carnival scenes with aerial views of dancing brown bodies, rejecting hierarchical Western painting traditions.
- Early work 'Dancing in the Street' from 1961 blends landscape and crowd elements, painted when Dash was fifteen.
- Recent painting 'Want Fi Goh Rave' from 2025 features approximately 120 figures in asymmetrical, wave-like arrangements.
- Dash's style contrasts with artists like Pieter Bruegel, Georges Seurat, and Diego Rivera by eliminating perspective and focal distance.
- In 'Freedom Come' from 2021, white-robed figures reference Caribbean spiritual traditions without commanding space.
- Dash proposes carnival as a permanent ontological state, diverging from Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of temporary suspension of order.
Entities
Artists
- Paul Dash
- Pieter Bruegel
- Georges Seurat
- Diego Rivera
- Mikhail Bakhtin
Institutions
- Felix & Spear
- Caribbean Artists Movement
- ArtReview
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Barbados
- Oxford
- Trinidad