Masterworks To Open Two Exhibitions On May 1

Masterworks will be opening two art exhibitions on May 1 – Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection and Palimpsest.

A spokesperson said, “Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art is pleased to announce the joint opening of two exhibitions on May 1, 2026, with a public reception at 5:30pm. In the Butterfield Gallery, Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection will be on view through September 12, 2026, presenting a major exploration of Bermuda’s architectural identity through works from the Permanent Collection.

“Concurrently, the Rick Faries Gallery will feature Palimpsest, a solo exhibition by multi-disciplinary artist Meg Walters, on view through June 27, 2026. Together, these exhibitions offer dynamic and complementary perspectives on place, memory, and the evolving visual culture of Bermuda.

• Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection
• May 1 – September 12, 2026
• Curated by Dr Sara Thom and Max Grainge

“Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection examines the architectural forms that define Bermuda’s cultural identity. Vernacular architecture refers to the buildings and styles that speak to who we are and how we live, shaped by local materials, climate, and cultural practices. Throughout the Island’s modern history, local and visiting artists have reflected this by foregrounding Bermuda’s architectural vernacular as a subject in their work – studying, celebrating, and re-interpreting its forms.

“Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection presents selected works of art from the Permanent Collection, dating from the early nineteenth century to the present day, which illustrate the distinctive character of Bermuda houses and the Island’s broader built landscape.

“Visions of the Vernacular highlights fundamental elements of Bermudian architecture – from the geometric patterns of rooflines, to the half-secluded spaces of verandas, and the framing forms of gates and pillars. These features define the landscape and reflect a local desire for protection, togetherness, and expression. Viewers are invited to consider the social functions and symbolic meanings of these and other vernacular architectural features.

“The exhibition is complemented by a participatory installation by Kimberley Fisher, functioning as both a workshop and shared art-making space for all ages. The installation encourages reflection on vernacular forms as spaces of memory, identity, and lived experience. The space includes:

• Art activities: As visitors of all ages move through the space, they encounter hands-on activities engaging Bermuda’s distinctive architectural elements, including a station for printing custom houses using a set of architectural stamps.
• Workshop area: A dedicated workshop area hosting family-friendly sessions led by local artists, such as a perspective drawing workshop with Jon Gardner and a photo embroidery workshop with Teresa Ruiz inviting participants to bring photographs of family homes, homesteads, and lived spaces to reinterpret through stitch.

“Key dates associated with Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection:

• Exhibition Dates: May 1 – September 12, 2026
• Opening Reception: Friday, May 1 | 5:30 – 7pm
• Curated Conversations with Dr Sara Thom and Max Grainge: Thursday, June 4 | 5:30 – 7pm
• Family Workshop: Photo Embroidery with Teresa Ruiz: Saturday, June 13 | 10am – 12pm
• Family Workshop: Perspective Drawing with Jon Garnder: Saturday, July 11 | 10am – 12pm

• Palimpsest by Meg Walters
• May 1 – June 27, 2026
• Curated by Jasmine Lee

“Meg Walters will present a body of work shaped by a life lived between Bermuda and Australia. Palimpsest is interpreted as a ‘scraping back’, revealing a complex layering and erasure of materiality. Embedded in each painting is the passage of time, markers of lived experience, personal history, destruction and formation. As each artwork reveals itself through the slow process of gradually applying and removing paint, the artworks bear witness to the multiplicity of self.”

Ms. Walters said, “Growing up in Bermuda and now residing in Australia, I’ve become more interested in the psychological and emotional residue of place than the place itself. Each painting becomes an exploration of memory, an unravelling of time, space and identity. I’m searching for that indiscernible quality or impact that holds our attention momentarily, gives us pause from our own thoughts and life to reflect.

“It is through this deeper contemplation that I have come to appreciate where home truly resides.”

The spokesperson said, “Walters, a Bermudian living in Newcastle, New South Wales [Mulubinba], Australia, is an emerging multi-disciplinary artist, working primarily with painting and sculpture. She has been a finalist in major Australian awards including The Glover Prize and The Portia Geach Memorial Art Award and will participate in the 2026 Bundanon Residency. She has held ten solo exhibitions, and her works are held in public and private collections in Australia and internationally.”

Ms. Walters said, “Being able to showcase my work in Bermuda after building a career in Australia over the past eight years is a significant landmark for me. My time living off the island has allowed me to interrogate the landscape and history of Bermuda from a lens of objectivity, integrating my own Australasian perspective. I look forward to sharing a uniquely contemporary take on Bermuda and its landscape and people.”

The spokesperson said, “Key dates associated with Palimpsest:

• Exhibition Dates: May 1 – June 27, 2026
• Opening Reception: Friday, May 1 | 5:30 – 7pm
• Artist Talk: Thursday, May 7 | 5:30 – 7pm
• Artist Workshop: 2-part series, Saturdays: May 9 and June 6 | 10am – 12:30pm

“Featured artwork from Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection:

• William Chadwick, Ashley House, 1922, oil on canvas, 13 x 18 in.
• Robert Steinmetz, Springfield, 1991, watercolour on paper, 17 ½ x 11 ½ in., Gift of Carol & William Bailey, 2001

“Featured artwork from Palimpsest:

• Meg Walters, How To Catch a Shooting Star, 2026, oil on linen, 40×40 ins
• Meg Walters, No Man is an Island, 2026, oil on board with ceramic frame, 10×12 ins
• Meg Walters, The Foundering, 2025, oil on linen, 16×20 ins

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