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About Art:
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Nicole Aussedat has arrived 15 years ago on St-Barth.
She first settled as a bookbinder in 1985 to restore and bind the archives of the island. Then ,as a graduate in political science, she established environmental projects for the islands, i.e. a marine reserve in St-Barths waters, a city plan for waste treatment, etc. She is now a journalist and also organizes guided tours for visitors.
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Revised January 2001
An itinerary for art lovers
For all those who take brush to canvas or view the world behind a camera lens, Saint Barthelemy offers incomparable light. Each year, a swarm of fashion photographers fly in and use the island as a backdrop for their photos, taking full advantage of the island's magnificently transparent blue skies to enhance their models. Painters, too, are well aware of the natural conditions to be found in St. Barts and have been setting up their easels here in greater and greater number.
For a long time, the only artists to exhibit their work were, in fact, seafarers. They still pop in periodically and show their sketches and paintings to friends and fans whenever fate and wind conspire to push their vessels back to these familiar shores. Maybe you'll have the chance to admire the charcoals or oil paintings of mariners like Paul Johnson, John Smith or David Wegman which Loulou Magras, a fellow seaman, features in his Gustavia gallery, the Bank of Bhagdad (specializing in crude oil paintings). Though each in his own way, each artist captures the humble magic of Caribbean life, inspired by nature and culled through a lifetime of travel.
Little by little and for varying amounts of time, some of these nomads settled in St. Barts. Among them, Stanislas Defize, a talented watercolorist, Jean Pierre Ballagny, a portrait artist who gravitates toward oversized slice-of-life paintings of island women, Pati Guyot, an eclectic artist who fearlessly experiments with different media and subjects.
Others would follow their trail, though more prosaically, and set up their easels alongside their colleagues, like Antoine Heckly, minstrel of architectural details and cheerful fantasy.
For the past twenty years, Nathalie Daniel, a talented portrait artist, has been delighting art aficionados with beautifully executed and dream-like visions.
Marion Vinot, another highly recognized artist, has achieved both respect and a faithful following for the women and their idealized lives which she portrays; graceful creatures gathering in 1930's inspired resort scenes, suspended and idealized in a genteel past. She spent many years on the island, and now returns periodically with a suitcase full of new splendors for her fans.
By the early 90's, there was an artist per square kilometer, which admittedly, has turned St. Barts into a fertile breeding ground for artistic expression and artists, now numbering more than thirty. For many artists, public introduction came by way of the island's only art gallery at the time, located at the Villa Creole in St. Jean. The gallery's success attracted and encouraged island artists to paint, then exhibit. Now, the entire island has become a marvelous artistic tour that winds, sometimes arduously, through St. Barth's many nooks and crannies.
Restaurants and hotels have gotten into the act, proposing alternative exhibit spaces for visiting or local artists, particularly during high season and high-traffic months, like February. The Filao Beach Hotel, for example has singled out the work of artist Claire Detanger, whose works hang in the hotel lobby.
New galleries are opening every year, sometimes featuring the work of foreign artists. Christian Mas, an art professional, opened a gallery on the far side of the port, Rue Jeanne d'Arc, featuring the work of well-known artists like the Russian painter Kurovsky as well as more established Caribbean-based artists.
It's easy to spend a night or two gallery hopping. In Gustavia alone, you can start at "Les Artisans", located on Rue du General de Gaulle, that features the natural splendors of Alain le Chatelier, confirmed epicurean and smitten with the creative process. Next, head up to "L'Espace 21" Gallery at the Carre d'Or, where you'll find ancient objets d'art from Asia, Africa and the ancient Tainos culture. You'll also discover the work of gallery owner Kay Quattrochi, who is veering more and more towards pointillism. Go down the flight of stairs and take a left toward the quai. There, you can visit the "Nomades Gallery" who exhibits the alchemically inspired paintings of Flemish artist Jean-Michel Lengrand ,on permanent display. Next door, at Nomades street-level boutique, you'll find many other artistic works on display, including those of Marion Vinot. After a pit stop at the Bar de l'Oubli or Le Select, take rue du General de Gaulle where you'll happen upon Loulou Magras' Bank of Bhagdad Gallery, a beautifully renovated old home that has adopted a very democratic approach to art. Loulou has made his art gallery a home for artists in need of exhibit space, thus providing each a chance to win over the public. A block farther down on Gustavia's main street rue Generale de Gaulle, "La Vieille Case" gallery permanently exhibits a group of selected artists like Catherine Theodose from Martinique, renowned for her landscapes, Christian Vannier, abstract painter with a decided penchant for reds and oranges, and the beloved Stanislas Defize. Continue your walk down the quay and you'll wind up at the "Galerie sur le Port", near the Anglican Church, where you can visit the Paul Elliott Thuleau exhibit featuring traditional old island homesteads, as well as other guest artists.
At La Savane shopping center in St. Jean across from the airport, a young local man, Pascal Ledee, has opened a large gallery space to display his own cubism-inspired paintings. A little farther down the road in the string of beach front shops near the Eden Rock hotel, Indigo Boutique carries posters, lithographs and the work of artists like Aline from Lurin, Denis Hermenge, also represented by the "Made in St. Barts Boutique" at the Villa Creole.
In addition to visiting galleries, you can also visit some of the island's artists in their homes or studios, including Hannah Moser, whose eclectic sense of artistic inspiration bring her Petit Cul-de-Sac studio to life. Nearby, Pompi, who inhabits the house of his forefathers, displays his art naif with charm and good humor. As you head toward Gustavia, stop by Cecile Robinet's studio in Marigot where you'll discover deliriously joyful characters dancing lightheartedly on idyllic beaches. Once you've hit town, count two stops on your discovery route. Jeanne Fabas displays her realist works out of her Gustavia studio, and Remy-Laurent Kraft, a crossover from the world of graphic art, explodes the senses with his theme-inspired art: flamenco , corrida, and more recently, underwater life.
Among the local St. Barts who have entered into world of painting, Pompi is easily one of the more exuberant. Jackson Questel, much younger, came onto the art scene with full force. His debut 1998 exhibit, a one-man show, attracted such an appreciative audience for his art-made of recycled objects- that it sold out in three days. Robert Danet is another native son whose introspective, classical approach to painting yields very honest, straightforward paintings devoid of pretension or vanity, though laced with symbolism. He paints his island as he sees it: a half of a lime floats in an agitated sea, representing the rich attributes of an island with a double historical identity, Swedish and French that like the artistic community it has fostered, floats in a vast ocean, rich with promise and talent.
Nicole Aussedat
translated by Diana Bourel
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