H Mystique Inc. : Art. Haitian Art

If you haven't heard of Sebastien Jean yet, you better get on the bandwagon because he's the art world's next new "It man".

Born in Thomassin Haiti; Jean, a self-taught painter and sculptor, knew he wanted a future in the arts since the age of 13 years old. Encouraged by his mother and other artist he grew up around, Jean began creating pieces using things he found in his surroundings.

He used unconventional materials such as; saw dust, vegetation, coffee grounds, even developing a technique combining carbon black color, giving his paintings their very particular features.

Works alive with monstrous creatures, amputees and dark colors, evoke an undeniable energy.

"My main inspiration is rooted in the culture and life in all its forms in Haiti mingling cries, happiness, misery and joy. My work is part of the contemporary art universe incorporating Haitian universe spiritualities, colors, materials, vegetation, ... and the rest of the world. My aesthetic combines colors: black smoke, dust, ... that give life." Jean

Jean expresses his self-proclaimed "search for self" in his drawings, painting, and in amazing large scale sculptors, and light installation.

Jean works have been featured in galleries and art exhibits all over Haiti, and in the recent years has been receiving international accolades. He has been featured in shows around Europe and North America, even having a solo show at the Galerie Égrégore in France.

Sebastien Jean spends his time between Paris and Port-au-Prince, and is currently working on pieces for an upcoming exhibit.

November 19, 2014 to 15 February 2015, Jean will be part of an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris focusing on Haitian art from the 19th century to the present day, where his pieces will hand beside those of Jean-Michel Basquait For more information: http://www.grandpalais.fr/en/event/haiti#sthash.LeKbaWJV.dpuf

For more information on Sebastien Jean
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sebastien-jean/216096328588769?sk=timeline
http://www.agwe-galerie.com/SEBASTIEN_JEAN.G.htm#SEBASTIEN_JEAN.G
http://nancyroc.com/lart-haitien-au-grand-palais-a-paris

By MYSTIQUE

ALSO AT:

https://www.facebook.com/hmystique

https://twitter.com/h_mystique

http://pinterest.com/hmystique/

http://instagram.com/hmystique

Art. Haitian Art Artiz Rezistans Haiti Haitian Artist Jean Herard Celeur Josue Azor Mario Benjamin Miko Guillaume

Last night was the vernissage of artist Mario Benjamin's new exhibit 'Le Choc de Retour'.

Mario Benjamin is one of the leading artist of Haitian contemporary art. He uses video and multi-media, painting, installation and other mixed media to address issues of identity, ethnicity, and race. Benjamin was self-taught and started painting at the age of 14. He learned about the international contemporary art trends from frequenting museums in New York, D.C. and abroad. At the age of 20, in his first exhibit, he sold out of all his paintings. In 1984 he participated in Festival Arts d’Haiti and since then has represented Haiti in numerous prestigious exhibits such as in Johannesburg, Havana, Sao Paulo and Venice.

'The black tones and darkness of Benjamin’s recent productions reflect the artist’s fear of becoming stifled by a society and a reality that limits is reflections, his expressive needs and his individuality. The work shows a will to convey the idea that things that appear to conform, or that assume the guise of acceptability, might in reality be very different.' (Galerie Monnin)

Mario Benjamin’s work has always intrigued me. You can feel the emotion and can image the place in which his obvious pain, fear, anger comes from. It tempts, draws you in, but forbids you to follow.