The Bell at Brown University and Brown Arts Institute announces the first solo institutional exhibition by French-Caribbean artist Julien Creuzet in the U.S., Attila cataract your source at the feet of the green peaks will end up in the great sea blue abyss where we drowned in the tidal tears of the moon, on view February 20 – June 1, 2025. Featuring 17 artworks, Creuzet’s immersive exhibition blends moving image, sculpture, sound, and poetry.

The exhibition is an evolution of the artists’ presentation at the French Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, originally curated by Céline Kopp and Cindy Sissokho. Kate Kraczon, Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions at The Bell and Brown Arts Institute, worked closely with Creuzet to reimagine the Venice project, mapping a conceptual journey between Venice, Martinique, and Providence. This marks the first time that the French Pavilion from the Venice Biennale is exhibited in the United States.

Incorporating vibrant synthetic and natural elements, Creuzet creates distinct installations grounded by archipelagic steel floor sculptures that unfold across the gallery space. Resonating with the four-channel video projections and six distinct soundscapes influenced by hip-hop, jazz, and other musical forms and bodily gestures across the African diaspora, his hanging objects incorporate fibers and found materials from Paris and beyond, referencing the artist’s intimate relationship with the sea and his Martinican heritage. The country’s precarity within the global climate crises and the centrality of postcoloniality and Blackness propel Cruezet’s work into a US-based conversation where it is both an urgent and necessary contribution. His work explores fluid connections between the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, now expanding to the American context through the lens of Providence’s own colonial past.

In particular, Creuzet’s adaptation for Brown will examine the colonial history embedded within Providence and Rhode Island, a site once deeply involved in the transatlantic slave trade. A bilingual exhibition catalog will further explore Creuzet’s work within broader global dialogues surrounding performance, sound, environmental crisis, and Afro-diasporic identity.

In addition to the exhibition, The Bell will offer a robust schedule of public programs, including a dance party featuring DJs and an interdisciplinary performance at Brown’s new Lindemann Performing Arts Center. The exhibition will culminate in a symposium featuring scholars, artists, and activists engaged with the Caribbean diaspora, Afro-diasporic identity, and the legacy of colonialism through a Francophone lens. This event will foster dialogue on the pressing issues of environmental degradation, cultural preservation, and migration, themes central to Creuzet’s work.

The Bell’s presentation of Julien Creuzet’s work is the result of extensive collaboration and institutional support. Brown University’s resources, including its renowned faculty and interdisciplinary centers, offer a rich scholarly context that amplifies the exhibition’s critical engagement with postcoloniality and Black Atlantic histories.

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