Haitian Artist's Found.

It is the Stone Parliament of Art's privilege to introduce a couple of Haitian artists that we've found. We ask, "did it take a tragedy to research and explore artists from a country that has suffered oppression for so long?" Admittedly the earthquake did provoke us into thinking about artists living in Haiti - we're humbled and awakened. It should not have taken a disaster to come to know these great artists. It's an honour to showcase their work. Out of many we fell in love with the work of these two artists - Claude Dambreville and Reginald Naizaire.

Researching Claude Dambreville we visited his facebook wall. He writes:

"Le 12 Janvier 2010, un tremblement de terre a fait des milliers de morts et de blessés en Haiti. Les survivants ont le coeur déchiré à la vue de toutes ces victimes, et de toutes ces maisons détruites. La faim, la désolation, la tristesse, le désespoir se lisent sur les visages. Au nom de mes compatriotes, et en mon ...nom propre, je remercie la communauté internationale qui s’est solidarisée avec le peuple haitien." January 20,2010- 9:02 PM

Translation: "On January 12, 2010, an earthquake caused thousands of deaths and injuries in Haiti. The survivors hearts are torn by the sight of all these victims, and all the houses destroyed. Hunger, desolation, sadness, despair can be seen on their faces. On behalf of my countrymen and myself, I thank the international community forming a solidarity with the Haitian people."


Dimitri Beaulieu responds: "the irony of our time is that with the millions of dollars pouring into Haiti, we are fast becoming one of the richest country in the Caribbean, but God did it had to take this...."

Paintings by Claude Damebreville

Coastal Trade
30"x24"

Sailing Boats
24" x 20"

Claude Dambreville was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, December 17, 1934. He is renowned for using flat colors, "strong light and deep shadows" particularly to depict his favorite subject - women of the markets. Dambreville's paintings have an esthetic value that immediately catches the eye of the viewer. He is not satisfied to reproduce his models realistically so much as to capture the expressive line and form which gives these figures their essential character. He has a unique ability to use these techniques to show the strength, the dignity, and the grace of his subjects. His art is much too sophisticated to be included in the Haitian "primitive" category, yet retains that honestly naive character of great Haitian art.

Buying Carrots (2005)
16x20 inches (41x51cm)
acrylic on canvas

The artist's formal training includes the study of artistic anatomy at "L'Atelier," under Nehemy. It is there that he met the famous artist Petion Savain, whose daughter he married in 1973. While best known for his art, Dambreville is also a journalist and a writer, and in the period 1956-1968 he was Director of the radio station Radio-Tropiques. He is the author of over 100 stories and articles, and of the novel "Coup de Tonnere." He co-authored the novel "L'Amerique Saigne" with Franck Etienne.

Small Break
Petite Pause
Pausita
16"x12"

Dambreville has had one man shows thoughout Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the U.S., and his paintings are sought after by knowledgable collectors. He was sponsored by President and Mrs. Mitterand in shows at Paris and in Nime in 1991. His collectors include - aside from the Mitterands - Pierre Cardin and Denzel Washington, among many others.

Click HERE to view more of Dambreville's works and click HERE to visit him on facebook, maybe even become a fan!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Artist Reginald Nazaire

Reginald Nazaire who goes by 'Nazaregi' is a Haitian born artist living in Brooklyn, New York. His 'pencil drawings' captivated us. We think you will agree.



"Art, it is the most sublime mission of the man, since it is the exercise of the thought which seeks to understand the world and to render it comprehensible."

Reginald Nazaire

View more of Nazaregi's work HERE.