Emmanuel Merisier

Drawing influence from Haitian art and popular culture as well as European modernism, artist Emmanuel Merisier presents a unique oeuvre that explores both the spiritual and the modern. This exhibition is the tenth iteration of the Global Caribbean exhibition series and the first to focus on the work of an individual artist. Featuring twenty eight paintings from the latter part of Merisier’s career, this exhibition aims to introduce this important painter to a broader audience.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Merisier trained with artists at the Foyer des Arts Plastique and the Centre d’Art before immigrating to the United States in 1968. Settling in the New York City area, Merisier studied at the Art Students League and School of Visual Arts. He developed a body of work heavily informed by his research of art history books and the contemporary art scene. Works such as In Memory of Wilfredo Lam (2009), Matisse and Hyppolite (1998) and In Memory of Picasso and Chagall (2000) exhibit visual and thematic influences from modernist painters. At the same time, other works portray explicitly Haitian themes, including a particular concern of the plight and traditions of the Haitian people.  Steeped in references ranging from Vodou to the German expressionists, Merisier’s large and powerful canvases pay homage to the masters of Caribbean and European art as they recall the gestural nature of modern painting and its implied symbolism. 

Neither self-taught intuitive nor outsider art, Merisier’s work provides a new perspective within modern painting and his work stands elusively between Haiti and the global art world.