 Indigo Arts Gallery celebrates the artistic genius and the indomitable spirit of the Haitian people, with a continually changing collection of Haitian paintings. We fell in love with the art and people of Haiti on our first visit twenty years ago. While our focus is on artists actively working today, we also have a stock of paintings from the 60's through the 90's that we have collected in Haiti over the last eighteen years or acquired from estates and collections. A sampling of the artists we normally carry includes: Theard Aladin, Gerald Bruny, Gelin Buteau, Gerard Fortuné, Alexandre Gregoire, Jorelus Joseph, Dieuseul Paul, Gerard Paul, Manno Paul, Denis Smith, Louisiane St. Fleurant, Pierre-Joseph Valcin, Julien Valery, Jacques Valmidor and Wagler Vital. We also offer sculpture fashioned from recycled steel oil drums by such artists as Gabriel Bien-Aimé, Serge Jolimeau, Janvier Louis-Juste and Michel Ramil Remy.
Doubtless the most spectacular Haitian art form is the sequin-covered Drapo Vodou or "Voodoo Flag". Vodou banners derive directly from the practice of the Vodou religion, a syncretism of traditional African religions brought to Haiti by slaves, with the Catholicism of their former masters. The banners are traditionally the work of practicing vodou priests and their followers. They are displayed in the vodou sanctuaries and are carried at the commencement of a ceremony. Each flag depicts the vévé symbol or image of the loa to which it is devoted. The flags are made of shiny silk fabrics to which have been sewn a brilliant mosaic of sequins and beads. A full-size banner typically contains 18,000 to 20,000 sequins and may take ten days to complete.
Among the more traditional practitioners of the art we show at Indigo Arts are Sylva Joseph, Clotaire Bazile, and Yves Telemac. We have also exhibited the work of the late Antoine Oleyant, among the first artists to expand the bounds of the tradition and thus achieve recognition for his flags as sequin paintings in their own right. His work and life are featured in Tina Girouard's 1994 book, Sequin Artists of Haiti as well as the landmark exhibition, Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Other important sequin artists at Indigo Arts include Maxon Scylla, Mogirus, George Valris and the late Joseph Oldof Pierre. Exciting new artists include Myrlande Constant , Amina Simeon, Evelyn Alcide and Roudy Azor.
La Sirene Vodou Banner (#AC0701)
Evelyn Alcide (Port-au-Prince, Haiti)
Sequins and beads on fabric (34 1/2" x 41" ),
c.2006
Our friend Nancy Josephson has recently published the definitive book on vodou flags, Spirits in Sequins: Vodou Flags of Haiti. It is superbly illustrated and includes by far the most up-to-date biographies of all the major (and many lesser-known) sequin artists.
Spirits in Sequins: Vodou Flags of Haiti
Nancy Josephson
Schiffer Books
Atglen, PA, 2007
176 pages
$39.95
In October and November 2008 we presented Drapo Vodou: Haitian Vodou Flags, an exhibition featuring many of the finest current and past artists of this dynamic medium.
Two important Haitian art events in 2009:
Haitian Art from the Collection of Jonathan Demme showing at FIAF in New York.
Through his films, his public stands, and his philanthropy, director Jonathan Demme has long been one of the foremost American proponents for the people and culture of Haiti. He is also one of the leading collectors of Haitian art in recent years. This is a rare opportunity to see selections from this fine collection. Jonathan Demme Collection: Inspiration of Haitian Art was presented from May 7th to June 13th, 2009, at the French Institute/Alliance Francaise , 22 E. 60th St., in New York as part of the month-long World Nomads: Haiti festival.
Mystical Imagination: The Art of Haitian Master Hector Hyppolite at the Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C., May 18th to July 5th, 2009 presented by the Haitian Art Society and the Waterloo Center for the Arts.
"The Haitian government has declared 2008-2009 as the year of Hector Hyppolite.
In recognition of this momentous event, the Haitian Art Society (national and Washington DC chapters) and the Waterloo Center for the Arts are partnering to present a major retrospective exhibition of the work of Hyppolite to open at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC in May 2009.
The exhibition, which included 50-100 works, will be accompanied by a full-color catalogue and is expected to tour to several other U.S venues. This project will not only honor Hyppolite as a great master artist of international importance, but will also serve to further interest in Haitian art as a whole. "
To coincide with the Hyppolite show, the Haitian Art Society held its annual Haitian Art Conference in Washington, DC (various locations) June 12th and 13th, 2009.
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