A self taught artist who took up painting seriously in his early 20's, following a series of short term employment. His early work was greatly influenced by French impressionist artist Georges-Pierre Seurat, one of the foremost exponents of the pointillist technique....
[more]A self taught artist who took up painting seriously in his early 20's, following a series of short term employment. His early work was greatly influenced by French impressionist artist Georges-Pierre Seurat, one of the foremost exponents of the pointillist technique. Whilst Seurat built up his compositions from a multitude of tiny coloured spots, Caesar developed his own technique by using simple pens and ink; composing his paintings with thousands of tiny dots. This minutely detailed use of a fountain pen means that even the smaller works take several months to complete.
During the early 1980s Caesar became director of the West Midlands Ethnic Minority Arts Service, the organisation promoted multicultural arts regionally and nationally. Caesar was also the first Chairman of Birmingham International Film & Television Festival. He has also curated and contributed to shows by black British artists including Into the Open (1984) and Caribbean Expressions in Britain (1986).
During the late 1980s Caesar started working in British television - originally as a journalist on Channel 4's "Black on Black" then as producer and director of entertainment, sport and multi cultural programmes for Central Television, Carlton Television and BBC. Radio programmes include "Mr & Mrs Smith" BRMB Radio and "The Windrush E. Smith Show" BBC West Midlands. In 1993 he formed his own production company, Windrush Productions. His productions include I'm Black in Britain, Respect, Drumbeat and the award winning multicultural series Xpress.
As a photographer and artist Caesar has worked in Spain, India, South America and Sweden and Denmark, South Africa, Albania and Jamaica. He has documented the artists, musicians, poets and politicians that he met and with whom he collaborated - including Stevie Wonder, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Jesse Jackson and Paul Robeson Jr. These and other images acquired by Mappin Art Gallery Sheffield, Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery represent important visual documents recording key figures in black British history.
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