Masterworks Exhibition: Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection
When:
Where:
Masterworks Museum Of Bermuda Art
183 South Rd. Botanical Gardens
Paget DV 04
Bermuda
About Masterworks Exhibition: Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection
Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection
in the Butterfield Gallery
May 1 – September 12, 2026
Architecture is a crucial component of what makes Bermuda so historically and visually unique. 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: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection highlights fundamental elements of Bermudian architecture which artists in the Permanent Collection represent from a variety of perspectives – depicting the geometric patterns of rooflines, the half-secluded spaces of verandas, and the framing forms of gates and pillars. These images invite the viewer to consider the social functions and symbolic meanings of these and other vernacular architectural features, as understood by the people living within and around them as well as the artists illustrating them.
The exhibition is complemented by a participatory installation by Kimberley Fisher, functioning as both a workshop and shared art-making space. The installation encourages reflection on vernacular forms as spaces of memory, identity, and lived experience.
Opening Date: Friday, May 1, with an opening reception from 5:30-7pm.
Visions of the Vernacular: Architecture in the Masterworks Collection was curated by Dr Sara Thom and Max Grainge. The exhibition will be on display from May 2 – September 12, 2026.
