Paul Gardère: Second Nature

Magenta Plains presents Paul Gardère: Second Nature, a solo exhibition of mixed media paintings from 1995-2001 by Haitian born, American artist Paul Gardère. Combining acrylic painting, relief sculpture, photography, found object assemblage, mud, and collage, these works encapsulate a pivotal moment in the life and practice of Gardère. This period saw his lifelong inquiries into social, economic, and racial dynamics of power and identity crystallize into a singular vision.

Born in 1944, the artist’s work sits at the intersection of critical strands of 20th century art history: the visual and cultural legacy of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora in the Americas, the legacies of Impressionism and Early Modernism in the former French colonies of the Caribbean, and the interweaving of these themes with the dynamism of mid-century painting in New York.

Paul Claude Gardère (b. 1994, Port-au-Prince, HT, d. 2011, New York, NY) was a Haitian and American mixed-media artist who received artistic training at The Art Student’s League of New York (’63), Cooper Union (BFA ‘67) and Hunter College (MFA ‘72). He holds the distinction of being the first Haitian Artist-in-Residence at The Studio Museum in Harlem (‘89-90), was awarded a residency at Fondation Claude Monet (’93) and received the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Painting in1998, among other notable achievements. During his 40+ year career, he worked and exhibited in both the United States and Haiti, but maintained his primary residence in Brooklyn, NY.

Magenta Plains

149 Canal Street

New York, NY 10002, USA

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