| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
June Issue 2007
Gallery C in Raleigh, NC, Features Art of Haiti
Harold Rigaud
Gallery C in Raleigh, NC, will present the exhibit, Roots, Rhythms & Myths: The Art of Haiti, on view from June 22 - July 31, 2007.
Andre Normil
Art is flourishing in Haiti. Despite recent years of social and political upheaval on this troubled Caribbean island, artists continue to paint and sculpt as if, by their combined efforts, they can create a safer and more stable homeland for their people. Styles vary and subjects speak to a rich artistic heritage nourished since the 1950's by the rest of the world. Today's young artists join the ranks of the two generations that preceded them, taking the lessons they have been taught and giving us newer and bolder art that cries out "We are still here!"
This special exhibition at Gallery C will feature over 50 works from three generations of Haitian painters. The paintings reveal a passionate love for simple island life. Numerous artists, young and old, have created moving images of markets and villages, fishermen and farmers, with the overall colors and rhythms of the country. Alongside these "realists" are fantasy artists who's surreal and symbolic works reflect deeply held spiritual beliefs and an underlying desire for escape from the rough island realities.
Accompanying the paintings on display is a unique selection of authentic vodou flags. Vodou (voodoo) is the commonly practiced religion in Haiti combining West African and Catholic beliefs. In the 1920's most American ball gowns were being made in textile mills on the island. Workers would stuff their pockets with sequins at the end of each day and sew them on to elaborate flags for vodou celebrations and rituals. The sequined flags are still used today incorporating symbols related to the many vodou spirits. These same symbols can also be found in many Haitian paintings demonstrating just how strongly connected art is to religion and culture on the island.
For further information check our NC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 919/828-3165 or visit (www.galleryc.net).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2007 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2007 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.