ARTIST Graham Foster made history yesterday as the Bermuda National Gallery announced it had acquired a piece of his art for its permanent collection.

The acquisition of 21st Century Fetish Family - a major feature of this year's Bacardi Limited Biennial Exhibition - was made possible through generous donations from the Christian Humann Foundation and gallery trustees Colin (Dusty) Hind and his wife, Barbara O'Shaugnessy.

Acquired based on the recommendation of the show's international jurors, the purchase of the three-piece welded steel sculpture marks the first time the gallery has purchased a contemporary Bermudian work from the Biennial.

Gallery director Laura Gorham described the artist's work as a "striking modern impression of African and Oceanic tribal art", and said it complemented the gallery's African collection.

"The acquisition was really an idea whose time had come," she said. "Several board members felt that we needed to start identifying significant contemporary artists in Bermuda whose work we should add to the gallery's Permanent Collection, which is a vitally important record of the development of the visual arts in Bermuda.

"And we thought, where better to start than our own Bacardi Biennial Exhibition where we have international jurors who can make professional, ubiased opinions?"

Mr. Foster (pictured below), a gradute of the Bermuda College and the Museum School of Fine Art in Boston, is best known for his surreal paintings and steel sculptures. 21st Century Fetish Family, he said, marked the beginning of a new artistic direction for him personally.

"I'd always been interested in tribal art and after seeing some of the pieces in the gallery's African collection and in books, I noticed all these amazing shapes, textures and patterns," he said. "I decided to try and translate these into steel.

"When I first heard that the gallery was considering purchasing the Fetish Family, I was bowled over. As an artist, it's a great honour to have a piece in the Permanent Collection. As a Bermudian and being strongly influenced by this island in much of my work, it makes me proud to think that future generations of Bermudians will be able to see my work long after I've keeled over."