LA VIE QUOTIDIENNE

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La Vie Quotidienne: Haitian Paintings from the David A. Kravitz Collection, 1970-2000

May 31 - September 4, 2022
Buchanan Partners Gallery @ Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas

La Vie Quotidienne showcases paintings from Haiti, donated to George Mason University by David A. Kravitz, retired Professor in the GMU School of Business. The exhibit includes a range of internationally renowned, nationally respected, and virtually unknown artists from Haiti. 

Painted in vibrant colors, the works on view present an idyllic vision of Haiti, emphasizing lush tropical landscapes, picturesque maritime imagery, quaint scenes of everyday peasant life, and themes from Haitian Vodou rituals. Created primarily for the tourist market, the works belie any hint of political turmoil, poverty, or religious conflict that marked Haiti’s history and instead present timeless vistas of Caribbean life. To complicate this narrative, GMU Art History students participating in Dr. Michele Greet’s ARTH495/599 Curating an Exhibition course researched Haitian history and religion, the history of art making and scholarship in Haiti, and the impact of the tourist market on artistic production in the region. Their texts on these topics complement the display and attempt to both celebrate and contextualize Haitian painting made in the last two decades of the 20th century.

Buchanan Partners Gallery on the Sci-Tech Campus is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm and 2 hours before each performance.

Artists:

H. Altenor, Michel-Ange Altidort, Gesner Armand, Saint Louis Blaise, Dieudonne Cedor, Charles Anatole, E. Cherisme, Osmin M. Christophe, Obès (“OB”) Faustin, Lafortune Felix, M. Germain, Calixte Henri, Saincilius Ismaël, Acciméus James, Carlos (Charles André) Jean Baptiste, Carlo Jean-Jacques, F. Joseph, Louines Mentor, Simeon Michel, Benson Myrthil, Louverture Poisson

Student Researchers:

Soohyun (Sophie) Bae, Anne Champlin, Charlotte Corneliusen, Julie Goforth, Stephanie Grimm, Olivia Holly-Johnson, Cecilia Klimon, Joshua Krauss, Madison Morrow, Kendall Reed, and Rachel Quinn.