Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art
Curated by Gérald Alexis
October 1 –November 24, 2010, Opening Reception: Friday, October 1, 6pm – 8pm
Celebrate Haiti Festival: Saturday, October 16, 11am – 6pm
PRESS RELEASE
Affirmation Arts is pleased to present Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art, one the first historical exhibitions of its kind in the United States. The exhibition consists of more than 50 pieces including sculpture, paintings, and works on paper, most of which have never been seen outside of Haiti. The eclectic selection features art from the 1940s to today and represents the vast variety of styles and influences present in Haitian culture.
Gérald Alexis—art historian and author of "Peintres Haïtiens," a book acclaimed as the most comprehensive study of Haitian art—curates Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art.
In his essay “Haitian Art: A Celebration of its Diversity,” Alexis states, “Already in 1949, during a visit to Haiti, Georges Henri Rivière, then assistant director general of the International Council of Museums, declared having witnessed the most beautiful, the most impressive, the most promising diversity: primitives, expressionists, abstracts—all of them expressing that which is specifically Haitian yet universal as well. . . . Particularly in these moments of crisis—it is necessary for us to celebrate this diversity.”
Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art opens on Friday, October 1 with a reception at the Affirmation Arts gallery and features the following artists:
Gesner Armand Peterson Laurent
Castera Bazile Luckner Lazard
Wilson Bigaud Jean-Claude Legagneur
Bourmond Byron Rejin Leys
Dieudonné Cédor Franck Louissaint
Didier Civil Stivenson Magloire
Philippe Dodard Michèle Manuel
Roland Dorcély Pierre-Pascal Merisier (Pasko)
Préfète Duffaut André Normil
Marie-Thérèse Dupoux (Maritou) Salnave Philippe-Auguste
Édouard Duval-Carrié André Pierre
Célestin Faustin Prosper Pierre-Louis
Jacques Gabriel Lucien Price
Jean-Claude Garoute (Tiga) Camy Rocher
Jacques Enguerrand Gourgue Pétion Savain
Hector Hyppolite Bernard Séjourné
Carlo Jean-Jacques Pascal Smarth
Jean-René Jérôme Hervé Télémaque
Antonio Joseph Luce Turnier
Reynald Joseph Gérard Valcin
Lionel Laurenceau Bernard Wah
Joseph-Jean Laurent Frantz Zéphirin
“With this exhibition, we are honored to present the beauty and complexity of these historical works to Americans and the art world at large for the first time,” comments Marla Goldwasser, director, Affirmation Arts. “Against the backdrop of the earthquake’s devastation, we celebrate some of Haiti’s greatest artistic talents and its rich culture.”
Affirmation Arts recognizes the importance of the Smithsonian's Haiti Cultural Recovery Project, an ongoing effort to rescue, recover, safeguard, and restore Haitian artwork, artifacts, documents, media, and architectural features damaged and endangered by the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti and its aftermath. Two paintings featured in the exhibition—Hector Hyppolite’s Pot de Fleurs and Célestin Faustin's Un Beau Rêve—were rescued and restored by the project.
Saving Grace: A Celebration of Haitian Art runs through November 24 and will be complemented by the Celebrate Haiti festival on October 16. This free event, to be held throughout the arts complex, gives the community an opportunity to experience Haitian culture through dance performance, live music, art demonstrations, hands-on art projects for children, and other activities.
Selected Press
Caribbean Life
Haitian art at Affirmation Arts gallery
by Tequila Minsky
Brooklyn Arts Council Oct. 16 Selebrasyon! An all day festival of Haitian culture
DNAinfo
Rescued Haitian Art on View at Hell’s Kitchen Exhibit
by Tara Kyle
CNN
'Miracle' restoration of Haitian art in new exhibit
by Moni Basu
Mutual Art Saving Haiti's Priceless Works of Art Devastated During Quake
Writing Without Paper
Haiti Inspirations
by Maureen E. Doallas
Repeating Islands Exhibition of Haitian Art in NYC to Open Oct. 1
The National
Haiti’s quake-crushed artworks back on show after restoration
by James Reinl
The New York Times
Exhibition of Haitian Art
Compiled by Kate Taylor