I didn't know of Calixte Henri (1933-2010) when I found this painting--and also didn't know that a big radiant dose of pink and purple could feel so right!-- but have since learned that he was a widely recognized and well collected Haitian painter, considered one of the "masters" of Haitian art--and there is fair bit on him out there. And no great surprise--this painting feels very fresh, very confident, and very resolved.
Born in 1933 in Port-au-Prince, Henri was a member of the Centre d'Art from 1955 to 1959, where he studied with Philome Obin (considered on of the greatest Haitian artist of the 20th century) among others. Interested in impressionism and cubism, particularly the work of Braque and Seurat, he began to experiment in the 1960s with razor blades as a means of applying the paint, moving on to painting with a palette knife exclusively, as exemplified in this painting, from 1980--while maintaining a consistent focus on Haitian subjects. Here, along with those radiant purple eggplants--a frequent subject of Henri--I believe it is pink cachiman/Coeur de Boeuf depicted, native to Haiti.
Oil on board, framed as found. Framed: 24 3/4" x 17". Very good condition, feels crisp and bright but also lush and a little moody. The frame is just a hair larger than the painting--the edges of painting do not show, but a new backing would not be a terrible idea to prevent any minor slippage.
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