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8052: Art exhibit in the Bronx
From: stacy pinero <mspinero@hotmail.com>
May 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Gail Nathan or Stacy Pinero
Vodou, Veves and Voting:
Contemporary and Traditional Sequined Tapestries
By Haitian Artist Antoine Oleyant and Louisiana Artist Tina Girouard
At the Bronx River Art Center and Gallery
May 12 - June 16, 2001
Bronx, NY¡K.Bronx River Art Center and Gallery is pleased to present a
stunning exhibition of contemporary and traditional sequined tapestries by
Haitian artist Antoine Oleyant and Louisiana artist Tina Girourard. Entitled
Vodou, Veves and Voting the exhibition of forty-three colorful works were
produced over a three-year period in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during the height
of the political unrest of the early 1990s. The show highlights a dynamic
interchange between two artists of kindred cultures and creative spirits and
their cross influence of aesthetics and ideas. It also demonstrates the
focus and determination of these two individuals to produce this body of
work while the very democracy that allowed for their union was under siege
by dictator forces.
Antione Oleyant was born in a small peasant village, steeped in Vodou
(spelled Voodoo in the US), located in the remote mountains on the southern
part of Haiti. He moved to Port-au-Prince in 1971 to be an apprentice in the
country¡¦s traditional arts. He is well known in his country, as well as
internationally, for some of the most complex Vodou beaded flags. Girouard
wrote about Oleyant¡¦s work: ¡§He was a
natural cubist and unlike other flag makers who depict a single image of one
loa, or spirit, on a solid background, his works were composed of multiple
images on a flowing background of color. The
cacophony of colors and images required the viewer to add up the parts in
order to understand the whole. My own work has always required the same
participation of the viewer so I knew we could communicate artistically.¡¨
Tina Girouard is an internationally recognized multi-disciplinary artist
whose work has taken diverse
-more-
forms including performance art, installation, video, sculpture and
painting. Born in DeQuincy, Louisiana she moved to New York City in 1968,
beginning her exhibition history with a one person show at 112 Green Street
Gallery, a forerunner of experimental contemporary spaces that are now an
established part of the national cultural landscape. Girouard has continued
to garner her greatest support from similar ¡§alternative spaces" including
PS 1 and the Clocktower in New York City, the Contemporary Art Center of New
Orleans and Diverse Works in Houston, TX. In 1984 she returned to her Cajun
homeland in Louisiana and in 1991 she established an auxiliary studio in
Porte-au-Prince, Haiti.
In 1990 Ms. Girouard visited Haiti seeking the assistance of a sequined
tapestry artist to complete a project she was doing for the City of
Lafayette, Louisiana. She visited several flag makers¡¦ studios, but it was
when she entered Antoine Oleyant¡¦s studio that she knew instantly she had
found a kindred spirit. That fateful meeting began a cross-cultural
pollination of two artists working together and influencing each other over
a three-year period. At the same time the political situation in Haiti had
been escalating, and in the fall of 1991 it erupted into an outright coup
d¡¦etat, forcing President Aristide into exile in Venezuela. With
difficulty, Girouard and Oleyant continued to work throughout this period of
political turmoil. During this time both Girouard and Oleyant greatly
influenced one another. Girouard came to embrace certain voodoo spirits and
iconography and Oleyant¡¦s work gave voice to current social and political
events.
Tragically, just as the two artists completed work on their first
collaborative tapestry, Oleyant suffered a massive stroke and passed away.
UNDER A SPELL, the first of what was to be a whole body of collaborative
works was the last piece the artists made together. This exhibition of over
50 sequined tapestries demonstrates the flourishing of this dynamic exchange
of ideas and aesthetics, culminating in a singular collaborative work.
On June 16, Tina Girouard will give a lecture at 4 PM to discuss the nature
of her collaboration with Antoine Oleyant.
####
*Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday, 3 - 6 PM / Saturday, 12 - 5 PM, or by
appointment
Travel Directions:
?h Train: IRT #2 or #5 to East Tremont Avenue. Walk one block east to Bronx
St.
?h Bus: #'s 9, 21, 36, 40, 42, or Q44 to East Tremont Avenue and Boston
Road.
?h Car: Bruckner Expressway to the Sheridan Expressway, exit at Tremont
Avenue or Cross Bronx Expressway to Rosedale Avenue.
May 21, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Gail Nathan or Stacy Pinero
Louisiana Artist Tina Girouard to Lecture for
Closing of Vodou, Veves and Voting
***
June 16, 2001
Closing Reception 3 - 6 PM
Lecture at 4:00 PM
Bronx, NY¡K.Bronx River Art Center is planning a special closing event on
June 16th to honor featured artist Tina Girourad who will speak about the
depth of her collaboration with noted Haitian sequined artist Antione
Oleyant. Ms. Girouard will also address her travels and explorations in
Haiti during the tense political period when President Aristide was ousted
from office through to his subsequent return in 1994. In addition to
discussing the development of the overall body of work presented in the
exhibition, Tina will address the general artistic, social, political and
economic issues in Haiti. This program is free and open to the public.
####
*Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday, 3 - 6 PM / Saturday, 12 - 5 PM, or by
appointment
Travel Directions:
?h Train: IRT #2 or #5 to East Tremont Avenue. Walk one block east to Bronx
St.
?h Bus: #'s 9, 21, 36, 40, 42, or Q44 to East Tremont Avenue and Boston
Road.
?h Car: Bruckner Expressway to the Sheridan Expressway, exit at Tremont
Avenue or Cross Bronx Expressway to Rosedale Avenue.
These events are made possible with public funds from the New York State
Council on the Arts, a state agency. Additional support is provided by the
New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, Bronx Council
on the Arts, The Chase Manhattan Foundation, Community Assets, a program of
the New York Foundation for the Arts, through generous funding from the
Rockefeller Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs,
Materials for the Arts, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer and the
Bronx Delegation of the New York City Council.
May 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Gail Nathan or Stacy Pinero
Vodou, Veves and Voting:
Contemporary and Traditional Sequined Tapestries
By Haitian Artist Antoine Oleyant and Louisiana Artist Tina Girouard
At the Bronx River Art Center and Gallery
May 12 - June 16, 2001
Bronx, NY¡K.Bronx River Art Center and Gallery is pleased to present a
stunning exhibition of contemporary and traditional sequined tapestries by
Haitian artist Antoine Oleyant and Louisiana artist Tina Girourard. Entitled
Vodou, Veves and Voting the exhibition of forty-three colorful works were
produced over a three-year period in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during the height
of the political unrest of the early 1990s. The show highlights a dynamic
interchange between two artists of kindred cultures and creative spirits and
their cross influence of aesthetics and ideas. It also demonstrates the
focus and determination of these two individuals to produce this body of
work while the very democracy that allowed for their union was under siege
by dictator forces.
Antione Oleyant was born in a small peasant village, steeped in Vodou
(spelled Voodoo in the US), located in the remote mountains on the southern
part of Haiti. He moved to Port-au-Prince in 1971 to be an apprentice in the
country¡¦s traditional arts. He is well known in his country, as well as
internationally, for some of the most complex Vodou beaded flags. Girouard
wrote about Oleyant¡¦s work: ¡§He was a
natural cubist and unlike other flag makers who depict a single image of one
loa, or spirit, on a solid background, his works were composed of multiple
images on a flowing background of color. The
cacophony of colors and images required the viewer to add up the parts in
order to understand the whole. My own work has always required the same
participation of the viewer so I knew we could communicate artistically.¡¨
Tina Girouard is an internationally recognized multi-disciplinary artist
whose work has taken diverse
-more-
forms including performance art, installation, video, sculpture and
painting. Born in DeQuincy, Louisiana she moved to New York City in 1968,
beginning her exhibition history with a one person show at 112 Green Street
Gallery, a forerunner of experimental contemporary spaces that are now an
established part of the national cultural landscape. Girouard has continued
to garner her greatest support from similar ¡§alternative spaces" including
PS 1 and the Clocktower in New York City, the Contemporary Art Center of New
Orleans and Diverse Works in Houston, TX. In 1984 she returned to her Cajun
homeland in Louisiana and in 1991 she established an auxiliary studio in
Porte-au-Prince, Haiti.
In 1990 Ms. Girouard visited Haiti seeking the assistance of a sequined
tapestry artist to complete a project she was doing for the City of
Lafayette, Louisiana. She visited several flag makers¡¦ studios, but it was
when she entered Antoine Oleyant¡¦s studio that she knew instantly she had
found a kindred spirit. That fateful meeting began a cross-cultural
pollination of two artists working together and influencing each other over
a three-year period. At the same time the political situation in Haiti had
been escalating, and in the fall of 1991 it erupted into an outright coup
d¡¦etat, forcing President Aristide into exile in Venezuela. With
difficulty, Girouard and Oleyant continued to work throughout this period of
political turmoil. During this time both Girouard and Oleyant greatly
influenced one another. Girouard came to embrace certain voodoo spirits and
iconography and Oleyant¡¦s work gave voice to current social and political
events.
Tragically, just as the two artists completed work on their first
collaborative tapestry, Oleyant suffered a massive stroke and passed away.
UNDER A SPELL, the first of what was to be a whole body of collaborative
works was the last piece the artists made together. This exhibition of over
50 sequined tapestries demonstrates the flourishing of this dynamic exchange
of ideas and aesthetics, culminating in a singular collaborative work.
On June 16, Tina Girouard will give a lecture at 4 PM to discuss the nature
of her collaboration with Antoine Oleyant.
####
*Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday, 3 - 6 PM / Saturday, 12 - 5 PM, or by
appointment
Travel Directions:
?h Train: IRT #2 or #5 to East Tremont Avenue. Walk one block east to Bronx
St.
?h Bus: #'s 9, 21, 36, 40, 42, or Q44 to East Tremont Avenue and Boston
Road.
?h Car: Bruckner Expressway to the Sheridan Expressway, exit at Tremont
Avenue or Cross Bronx Expressway to Rosedale Avenue.
_________________________________________________________________
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