November 28, 2009

My holiday in-home Haitian art sale happens only once each year. This time it’s Sunday, December 13th and Sunday, December 20th, both days from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Many new arrivals from Haiti, including ten Vodou flags by the master Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph and spirited metal sculptures from several artists, are included in this year’s eclectic mix of art. Smart collectors looking to find the rare and different will savor items from my personal art collection including works by master painters.

Going beyond Haiti, I will have masks from Africa and Mexico (as well as Haiti), folk art from American notables including Howard Finster, B.F. Perkins and Mose Tolliver, and unique hand-made ceramics, both decorative and functional, as well as Mexican folk art in a variety of forms. The idea is to sell precious items in search of caring owners who value indigenous cultures and the genius of the artists who create these wonderful works of art.

If you are interested in receiving an invitation, please email me at LuLuGatos@gmail.com. Come and join the fun.

–Candice Russell

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Sunday, November 22, 2009

The final tally is in for the recent Slotin Folk Art Auction in Buford, Georgia, open to absentee bidders via telephone and the Internet, as well as in person. Though the focus of the auction was primarily on American folk art, a small, select sampling of art from Haiti was included. Religious Vodou bottles, three out of four of which were painted rather than sequined and beaded, went for a reasonable $200. Unpainted metal sculptures, including “Couple with Turtle” by Serge Jolimeau, sold for $600, well under the estimate of $1,000 to $2,000. A lovely female encased in a pink bubble painted by the late Louisiane Saint Fleurant sold for $375, while other Saint Soleil masters were also sold including Prospere Pierre-Louis, whose “Yellow Face with Snakes” went for $550 — above the high estimate of $400. It is an outstanding painting, offset by yellow flowers in four corners. Levoy Exil’s “Abstract Faces on Blue,” measuring 28 inches square, sold for a mere $300, half of the low estimate for the work at $600.

It’s rare to find a painting by Francoise Eliassaint ever at auction and perhaps collectors knew this. Her “Madonna with Angels,” measuring 16 inches by 24 inches, went for $600. Gerard Paul, represented by two paintings, went for low prices including $250 for “Boat Concert,” measuring nearly 31 inches by 23 inches. That seems to be a big bargain. I absolutely loved the painting “Two Pink Women with a Yellow Cross,” measuring 12 inches by 16 inches by Makenol Profil. It went for a shocking $50, one-fourth the low estimate of $200.

Who knows what treasures will be offered in the next Slotin Folk Art Auction? The good news for Haitian artists is that attention is being paid, even if the prices that the works are worth aren’t being realized. It’s largely a buyer’s market and savvy buyers know it while snapping up exceptional art at pauper’s prices.

–Candice Russell

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November 5, 2009

Once again, collectors, gallery owners and museum curators with money in their pockets and budgets have a fabulous opportunity to go bargain-hunting for Haitian art. The occasion: the fall two-day Slotin Folk Art Auction in Buford, Georgia. which takes place this weekend. It begins on Saturday, November 7th at 10 a.m., followed by a continuation on Sunday, November 8th at 12 noon. Photos of all items, mostly American folk art, can be found on the website www.slotinfolkart.com. There are no reserve prices, which means the estimates are just that — if there are no bidders at the expected opening prices, buyers can bid lower and walk away with some real treasures.

Along with the great paintings by folk art masters like Bill Traylor, Howard Finster and Clementine Hunter, among many others, there is a choice sampling of art from Haiti. A Sully Obin painting “Soldier” is estimated at an impossibly low $200 to $300. Also under-estimated at $200 to $400 is “Yellow Face with Snakes,” an outstanding framed painting by Prospere Pierre-Louis measuring 23.5 inches by 27.5 inches. A central sun with four balanced pale yellow flowers in the composition makes it especially serene and pleasing. There is even a rare painting called “Woman” by Louisianne Saint Fleurant, estimated at between $800 and $1,200. Complete charm is exuded by Gerard Paul’s “Boat Concert,” estimated at $200 to $400. A stellar Pierre Joseph Valcin “Dancing in the Garden” is estimated at between $300 and $400.

Vodou bottles with more painting and collage elements than beading, metal sculptures of powerful dimension by Murat Brierre, and an other-wroldly “Yellow Man” painting by Lony, a name unknown to me, round out this small, superb selection of art for auction. There is some great stuff here so good luck to all the bidders in securing these special pieces. To email the auction house, write to auction@slotinfolkart.com. To telephone, dial 1-770-532-1115.

Helping Haiti is the point of another event. “Rebuild Haiti: Mission Possible!” is the name of a fundraiser to be held Friday, November 13th at the Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Boulevard in Coral Gables, Florida (across from the Biltmore Hotel) from 7 to 10 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to R.S.V.P. by November 10th. There will be a silent auction, wine reception, entertainment and display of Haitian crafts. The special guest is Edwidge Danticat, the famed Haitian-American author and 2009 recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award. All money generated will go to Haitian development programs that promote sustainability. For more information or to R.S.V.P., telephone 1-305/448-7421.

–Candice Russell