André Pierre, Untitled (no date). © André Pierre; courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, and El–Saieh Gallery, Port-au-Prince. Photo: Ralph Dupoux.
“Ayiti Toma II: Faith, Family, and Resistance” at Luhring Augustine is an intergenerational show that includes artists from Hyppolite to Constant. It’s organized by Haitian-born artist Tomm El-Saieh in partnership with El-Saieh Gallery of Port-au-Prince (founded by the artist’s grandfather, musician-composer Issa El-Saieh), and Central Fine gallery of Miami Beach, Fla., where he is also one of the principals. The title translates as “land of the high mountains/From now onward, this land is our land.” Ayiti in the Taíno language means “land of the high mountains” and was the Taíno name for Hispaniola, which was chosen by the Haitian people upon their independence from France. According to El-Saieh, the origins of Toma are harder to pinpoint but, according to lore, it is the “last name” of the country.
The strife in El-Saieh’s home country has affected the show, he said in a phone interview. Some works that were supposed to be included got stuck in Port-au-Prince, when the port was closed after gangs opened fire on the boats there.
He wouldn’t even say that this current moment for Haitian art represents the greatest case of international recognition, referring instead to Breton’s time there as the high-water mark, along with contemporaneous attention to Haiti by none other than New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Two researchers point out in a post on MoMA’s website that curator René d’Harnoncourt (later the museum’s director) bought René Vincent’s 1940 painting Le combat des coqs (Cock Fight) from the artist, and the museum bought it from him in 1944; it was the first work of Haitian art to enter the museum’s collection.
“What Haiti proves is art’s amazing ability as a tool for survival,” El-Saieh said. “Myrlande, for example, has made all her recent works, including the works that were in the Venice Biennale, through this political strife. Her career has oddly blossomed through this and it’s been able to save her life and her family’s life, because it gives them something to work towards.” And yet, he pointed out, the artist was unable to get visas to see the Venice exhibition and the Fowler retrospective.
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