Caribbean Art Renaissance

13/05/2026

Guadeloupe 🇬🇵 artist Orane explores the question of identity through the lens of portraits, particularly those of women. The Caribbean is an inexhaustible source of inspiration, she says. Each canvas is a reflection of her identity, imbued with her rich cultural heritage. In this quest for meaning, Orane has skillfully used vibrant colors, true allies in capturing the appearances, emotions, and even life stories that shine through in each face. Her art is an extension of herself, she likes to say, observing the smallest details of her surroundings daily to fuel her creativity. With her works, which represent universal communication and break down linguistic and cultural barriers, Orane invites viewers to see beyond the surface. She hopes to awaken curiosity, evoke emotions, and perhaps even provoke thought. "My art is my identity, and through it, I share my soul with the world."

Orane explore la question de l’identité à travers le prisme des portraits, en particulier ceux des femmes. La Caraïbe est une source inépuisable d’inspiration, dit-elle. Chaque toile n’est autre que le miroir de son identité, imprégnée de son riche héritage culturel. Dans cette quête de sens, Orane a su tirer parti des couleurs vives, véritables alliées pour capturer les apparences, les émotions voire les récits de vie qui transparaissent derrière chaque visage. Son art est une extension d’elle-même, aime-t-elle dire, observant au quotidien les détails les plus infimes de son environnement pour nourrir sa créativité. Avec ses œuvres synonymes d’une communication universelle, brisant les barrières linguistiques et culturelles, Orane invite les spectateurs à voir au-delà. Elle souhaite ainsi éveiller les curiosités, susciter des émotions et, pourquoi pas, amener une réflexion. « Mon art est mon identité et, à travers lui, je partage mon âme avec le monde.

11/05/2026

‘Portrait of América by Puerto Rican 🇵🇷 artist Waldemar Morales Lugo, 1957, oil on canvas.

The anticipation is real! In less than two weeks "The Sense of Beauty: Six Centuries of Painting from Museo de Arte de Ponce" will open.

Waldemar Morales Lugo (Puerto Rican, 1931-2010), “Portrait of América,” 1957. Oil on canvas, 36 5/16 × 28 13/16 in. (92.2 × 73.2 cm), Museo de Arte de Ponce. The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc. 59.0127. Image courtesy of Museo de Arte de Ponce.

08/05/2026

Ronald Cyrille Ronald Cyrille of Guadeloupe 🇬🇵 and Dominica 🇩🇲 is a Caribbean visual artist also known as B. Bird for his mural work. His artistic creations are deeply influenced by his roots and history, as well as the Caribbean world in which he lives. He draws inspiration from this environment to fuel his imagination and explore his own obsessions, often considered his unconscious. In his work, he combines figures and elements from a real and imagined bestiary, which often take on symbolic and meaningful forms.

By seeking to move forms and objects according to his own will, Ronald Cyrille explores the "magico-religious" universe of Creole imagery and creates references to a sacred or profane elsewhere that transcends conventions. His work brings together a tangible, geographically grounded world and a symbolic universe born from his imagination and his island identity.

The quote from Jean Dubuffet, taken from the preface to the exhibition Portable Landscape (1968): “No more mystical ex*****on on the physical world […]. Now the unreal delights me, I hunger for the unreal, for false life, for the anti-world; my works aspire to unreality,” perfectly summarizes the approach of this creative and inspired artist.

Originally from Guadeloupe and Dominica, Ronald Cyrille studied visual arts at the Caribbean Campus of Arts in Fort-de-France, Martinique. .bird_art_officiel
https://ronald-cyrille.com

Franćais

Ronald CYRILLE est un artiste plasticien caribéen qui se fait également connaître sous le nom de B. BIRD pour ses talents de muraliste. Ses œuvres artistiques sont fortement influencées par ses racines et son histoire, ainsi que par l’univers caribéen dans lequel il évolue. Il s’inspire de cette matière pour alimenter son imaginaire et explorer ses propres obsessions, souvent considérées comme son inconscient. Dans ses travaux, il combine des figures et des éléments provenant d’un bestiaire réel et imaginaire, qui prennent souvent des formes symboliques et chargées de sens.
En cherchant à déplacer les formes et les objets selon sa propre volonté, Ronald Cyrille explore l’univers « magico-religieux » de l’imagerie créole et crée des références à un ailleurs sacré ou profane qui transcende les conventions. Son travail fait cohabiter un univers tangible, géographiquement inscrit, et un univers symbolique issu de son imaginaire et de son identité insulaire.
La citation de Jean Dubuffet, extraite de la préface de l’exposition Paysage portatif (1968) : « Fini l’exécution mystique sur le monde physique […]. Maintenant l’irréel me ravit, j’ai faim du non-réel, de la vie fausse, de l’antimonde ; mes travaux aspirent à l’irréalisme », résume parfaitement la démarche de cet artiste créatif et inspiré.
Originaire de Guadeloupe et de Dominique, Ronald CYRILLE a étudié les arts visuels au Campus Caribéen des Arts à Fort-de-France en Martinique. .bird_art_officiel
https://ronald-cyrille.com

07/05/2026

Haitian artist Ayanna Legros is a mixed-media artist, scholar, writer, and radio archivist. Her collages are a multi-layered exercise in preserving Haiti’s 🇭🇹 historical memory, widening the public’s understanding of American history, and recognizing the significant contributions Caribbean peoples to global history. All of her works, from her glass bottles, to her collage pieces, invite the audience to have a deeper and more embodied engagement with their own pasts, identities, concepts of home, and family migration stories. Her anthropological and historical research alongside her community centered educational work shapes her daily outlook and nurtures her research interests in Caribbean, Latin American, and African diaspora studies. She is a graduate of Northwestern University (BA), New York University (MA), and Duke University (MA).

website: https://ayannalegros.com/ (art)
website: https://ayannalegros.com/lheurehaitienne (radio archive)
IG:

07/05/2026

Ayanna Legros is a mixed-media artist, scholar, writer, and radio archivist. Her collages are a multi-layered exercise in preserving Haiti’s 🇭🇹 historical memory, widening the public’s understanding of American history, and recognizing the significant contributions Caribbean peoples to global history. All of her works, from her glass bottles, to her collage pieces, invite the audience to have a deeper and more embodied engagement with their own pasts, identities, concepts of home, and family migration stories. Her anthropological and historical research alongside her community centered educational work shapes her daily outlook and nurtures her research interests in Caribbean, Latin American, and African diaspora studies. She is a graduate of Northwestern University (BA), New York University (MA), and Duke University (MA).

website: https://ayannalegros.com/ (art)
website: https://ayannalegros.com/lheurehaitienne (radio archive)
IG:

30/04/2026

British Virgin Islands 🇻🇬 impressionist painter Joseph Hodge. Through his works he captures life in the Caribbean, the history and culture of the Virgin Islands, a time when life was more simplistic and people were more connected to each other. Hodge has expressed his love for the ocean and his memories of a time that he holds dearly.

24/04/2026

Trinidadian artist 🇹🇹 Donald Hinkson, known as Jackie, is an award-winning prolific painter with a gift for capturing the light and life of the Caribbean. Born in 1942 in ‘Cobo Town’, Port of Spain, he trained in Paris at the Academie Julien (1963-64) and at the University of Alberta, Canada (1965-70). He was influenced at an early age by the works of Cézanne, Turner and Winslow Homer.

In the 1950s, as a young boy, he travelled with his father and brothers across the country, and what he saw left a mark. For over half a century, he has tried to capture this sense of community and closeness to nature in his paintings of homes, from Mayaro to Lambeau. His dexterity as a draughtsman can be seen in the hundreds of drawings in pen, pencil or conté crayon of historical buildings, some adjacent to modern skyscrapers, many of these colonial structures having lost the battle have been demolished in a day.

His watercolour washes are Homeric, perfectly weighted, the tones incredibly accurate. He prefers plein air watercolours which in the Caribbean require tenacity, patience and agility, the weather may change from stark sunshine to rain in minutes and sometimes residents may be uncomfortable with any intrusion by a stranger.
(Extracted from Ins & Outs of Trinidad & Tobago).

23/04/2026

“The Three Races” by Peruvian painter 🇵🇪 Francisco Laso (1823-1869)
José Francisco Domingo Laso de la Vega y de los Ríos was a Peruvian painter and politician. During his lifetime he was mostly known for his portraits, but gained popularity for his works of art around Indigenismo, a political ideology in parts of Latin America that emphasizes the relationship between the formed nation and indigenous nations and people.

22/04/2026

Sohill Lariuz is an artist and painter of Haitian Cuban 🇭🇹 🇨🇺 origin who currently lives in France.

“I am self-taught and my work is inspired by naïve art, vibrant colors, and the cultural richness of my Haitian-Cuban heritage.“

These artworks were created using mixed media techniques of waterproof colored pencils, pastels, markers, and a light touch of watercolor to add softness and depth. Sohill Lariuz