THE FIVE SUNS: Haiti' s Saint Soleil
Saint Soleil emerged in 1973 and was founded by artists Jean-Claude “Tiga” Garoute and Maud Guerdes Robard. They provided local farmers art supplies and encouraged them to draw and paint. The Saint Soleil style is often described as surrealist, with figurative paintings rendered in vivid colors and a mystical sensibility. Vodou symbolism appears in many works, but Haitian art scholar Selden Rodman observed that Saint Soleil created art for the deities rather than paint their likeness.
The paintings on view represent the Cinq Soleil, a group of five artists who created their own group after Saint Soleil dissolved in the late 1970s. Dieuseul Paul, Levoy Exil, Propsére Pierre-Louis, Louisiane Saint Fleurant, and Denis Smith were united in their artistic vision and spirituality. Richard Antilhomme joined the Cinq Soleil in the late 1980s after a hiatus from painting. Together, the artists represent the international stature and creative legacy of Haiti’s Saint Soleil.
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