"CROSSINGS" STAFFORD SCHLIEFER | NOVEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2026
Press Release: Moremen Gallery
Moremen Gallery is pleased to announce CROSSINGS, an exhibition of paintings by Jamaican artist Stafford Schliefer.
Spanning nearly five decades, CROSSINGS brings together paintings that reflect Schliefer’s extraordinary range of artistic expression. From luminous abstractions inspired by the American Southwest to powerful figurative works rooted in Jamaican life, his paintings move between cultures, histories, and visual traditions.
Schliefer’s work embraces both the beauty of the natural world and the complexities of human experience. His command of color, composition, and expressive form creates a distinctive visual language that connects seemingly disparate subjects across time and geography.
EXHIBITION & RECEPTIONS
Opening reception with the artist: Friday, November 13, 5:00–7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 14, noon–4:00 p.m. | On view through December 19, 2026
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1939, Stafford Schliefer is a self-taught artist who began painting professionally at age 28. For Schliefer, painting has always been as natural as breathing; he recalls making art from early boyhood.
His career began with exhibitions along the hotel strips of Kingston and Montego Bay. Critical recognition eventually brought his work into galleries and museums. He received Certificates of Merit from the Jamaica Festival Arts Commission in 1970 and 1972, and a High Commendation Award from the Institute of Jamaica in 1971, the year of his first solo exhibition.
From the outset, Schliefer’s subject matter has been wide-ranging: Jamaican cultural traditions, erotica, and sociopolitical concerns. Working across acrylic, oil, watercolor, mixed-media collage, and drawing, he employs both figuration and abstraction, often with exuberant color, movement, and gestural brushwork. His depictions of Pocomania ceremonies, Jonkunnu masquerades, and sugarcane workers exemplify this breadth.
A significant part of his work addresses poverty, violence, and the social conditions he has witnessed. Schliefer lives and works in Irish Town, Jamaica.
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