Master sculptor, ceramist and teacher Gene Hendricks Pearson 
1946 - 2018. 
Pearson was only 15 years old when he was was first introduced to the medium of clay at the Jamaica School of Art (now the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts) in 1960. He studied under Jamaica’s Master Potter Cecil Baugh with whom he developed a close relationship.
While he produced more conventional ceramics, such as vases and bowls, Pearson was best known for his sculptural work, especially his popular heads and masks which celebrated black beauty and dignity. Inspired by the arts of the ancient Nubia and Benin as well as Rastafari culture, the introverted monumentality of his sculptural works made them amongst the most distinctive and recognizable of the artists of his generation.