Gerard Valcin
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Gerard
Valcin has a style that is instantly recognized as his own, which is
quite challenging in Fine Art, where most artists' work looks like
someone else's.
In the present work, Voodoo Ceremony, Valcin depicts
the moment when a sheep is sacrificed. It is a large scene with many
elements. Priestesses, called Mambo, dressed in white, African-inspired
gowns, surround the sacrifice. Their repetitive shapes, which look like
musical notes, are arranged in an orderly formation as drummers bang out
a syncopated Voodoo beat, which will be accompanied by chanting.
A
Voodoo sacrifice is a central theme of Haitian religion, which invokes
spirits, lwa, and ancestors. Rituals involve offerings to the spirits,
such as fruit, liquor, and animals, to show respect and ask for guidance
or blessings.
Valcin shows the event in a most original way, part
observational reality, part subjective creativity. To accomplish this
work, he was not copying a photograph or posing subjects. His
composition has nothing to do with real-life objective spatial
relationships or Western linear perspective or atmospheric perspective -
it is a creation of his imagination.
It is defined by the artist's
own brand of perspective, combined with high-impact, graphic, rhythmic
shapes and bold, punchy color.
Every part of the picture reveals a powerful, unexpected graphic design element that infuses the painting with bold vitality.
Repetitive
shapes of the women in white outfits reinforce the ceremony's rhythmic
nature. The trunks of two palm trees serve as a framing device, with
areas of water and land alternating in a highly stylized manner.
Signed lower right on the seat of the boat
Frame size. 31.75'' x 39.75'
Provenance: Centre d'Art, Haiti, Ambassador Lane and Mrs. Sanya Bezencenet Timmons.