Everything, Earth and Sky | Haitian Art

The Frost Art Museum is home to one of the largest collections of Haitian paintings from the 1980’s and 1990’s in the United States. This exhibition and accompanying catalog are a part of the museum’s ongoing efforts to make its collection accessible through research and digitization. Dr. Kyrah Malika Daniels, Dr. Jerry Philogene, Dr. Fredo Rivera, Dr. Chantalle Verna, Jean-Daniel Lafontant, and Axelle Liautaud, scholars in the area of Haitian art, helped develop the exhibition’s focus around the artists’ varied use of space.

The exhibition also includes contemporary Haitian American artists with roots in Miami, including Vanessa Charlot and Mark Fleuridor as well as paintings from the collection by Gerard Fortuné, Alexandre Gregoire, Maxan Jean-Louis, Eddy Myrthil, and Fritzner Obner.

Everything, Earth and Sky highlights a theme prevalent in Haitian art, the depiction of space. From schools, communal plazas, and government buildings, to Haiti’s fauna and the ever-present ocean, these works present different interpretations of physical space and the use of public places. Some works clearly relate contemporary political challenges in Haiti and others portray the rich and varied iconography of Vodou.