Sénèque Obin, Church Mass, 1957. Private Collection. © Sénèque Obin; Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, and El–Saieh Gallery, Port–au–Prince, and CENTRAL FINE, Miami Beach. Photo: Farzad Owrang.
There is a saying in Haitian Creole that goes: Chak zarenyen gen 1,000 pitit fi; chak pitit yo gen yon sèl manman (Each spider has 1,000 daughters; each spider has just one mother). The adage could definitely be applied to Haiti’s artistic voices, which are diverse yet united by a common legacy rooted in the country’s history and syncretic traditions. A number of current exhibitions throughout the US are helping shed light on Modern and contemporary artists connected to the island nation, many of whom have developed totally distinct styles that blend everyday realism, politics, and mythology.
In Port-au-Prince itself, one of Haiti’s most pivotal institutions for Modern and contemporary art is El-Saieh Gallery. The gallery was founded in the mid 1950s by Issa El-Saieh, a bandleader who merged jazz, rara, and Afro-Cuban sounds. Today it is run by his family, including his grandson Tomm El-Saieh, whose entrancingly patterned paintings, soon on view at Luhring Augustine’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach, pull from the history of abstract painting, Vodou’s psychological states, and percussion. He also organized ‘Ayiti Toma II’, a show of Haitian artists at Luhring Augustine in New York, on view through January 11, 2025.
‘Ayiti Toma II' articulates the importance of family in Haitian art history. Philomé Obin and his younger brother Sénèque, who both exhibited at this year’s Venice Biennale, have developed their own school of painting. Philomé’s figurative work includes social scenes with dense narratives, including carnival ceremonies in front of shuttered healthcare offices. His painting Crucifixion de Charlemagne Peralte pour la Liberte (1964) references a photograph taken by US troops following their 1919 execution of Péralte, a revolutionary who fought US occupation, and which was used for psychological warfare. Viktor El-Saieh, Tomm’s younger brother, merges Haitian mythologies, sci-fi-like settings, glowing palettes, and Modernist grids, painting figures like Fet Chaloska, the carnival character with terrifying teeth inspired by the brutal head of Haiti’s national police in the early 1900s.
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