Levoy EXIL

Levoy Exil is a master Haitian artist and painter who was born in Fermathe in Haiti above Port-au-Prince’s mountains on December 7th, 1944, or in Soissons-la-Montagne on October 19, 1944, depending on which book you consult. 

He was one of the original members of Saint Soleil, a community of peasant artists that was organized by the Haitian artist Tiga, and Maude Robart, a writer and painter herself. 

Saint Soleil was located in the mountains above LaBoule, at Soisson-La- Montagne. It provided the means and encouragement for not only painters, but also poets, writers, craftspeople, singers, dancers, sculptors and musicians. The movement received international attention after the visit in 1975 of Andre Malraux, who was so impressed with the place that he devoted a chapter in his last book, "L'Intemporel", to Saint Soleil. Exil is also one of the five members of "Cinq Soleil", the group of artists that reformed in the late 1980's.

Peasants in a mountain community who had never painted before were given art materials in an experiment on spirituality, spontaneity and art. The results were astonishing, leading the French novelist and art historian André Malraux, on a trip to Haiti, to conclude that Voodoo spirits had possessed, and were guiding, the artists in the creation of the paintings. The movement received international attention after the visit in 1975 of Andre Malraux, who was so impressed with the place that he devoted a chapter in his last book, "L'Intemporel", to the Saint Soleil art movement illustrated with one of Exil’s artworks.

Exil began painting in 1972. He attended the Saint-Soleil workshops co founded by the famous artist Tiga in 1973. Exil is one of the best-known artists of the Saint Soleil School. Other famous students of the Saint-Soleil school are Denis Smith, Prosper Pierre Louis, Dieuseul Paul, and Louisianne St. Fleurant. (After studying the work of the group during a 1975 on trip to Haiti, Andre Malraux concluded Vodun spirits acted as conduits in the creation of Saint Soleil paintings the artist painting while possessed by the guiding hand of the spirit.)

Exil is a primitive artist who paints mostly Voodoo spirits or images from his dreams, wherein he looks for his true roots. He is one of the peasant artists who express themselves simply. His style is spontaneous and uninhibited and he makes use of shocking pinks and greens to color his strangely shaped figures. Levoy's work is very rhythmic. His compositions are soulful renderings of eyes, limbs, hair and snakes.

He has participated in many Saint Soleil exhibits and collaborated with Tiga and other artists in his group on a posthumous homage to Andre Malraux. He also created Fleur Soleil and exhibited at the World Theater Festival in Nancy, France in 1977.

Most of Exil’s paintings are mystical in nature. He constantly taps the sources of voodoo and looks for his true roots in his own dreams. He believes in reincarnation, is haunted by the story of Atlantis and relates to the memory of the Arawak Indians more strongly than to his African ancestors.

Exil's paintings are mystical and abstract and often depict Haitian Voodoo Loas (spirits), suns and stars, birds and doves. His painting style is primitive and dreamlike and employs the Pointillism technique of applying small, distinct dots in a pattern to reveal an image. There are rarely unused portions of the canvas in his works and he draws from African, Haitian and Voodoo influences. 

His work is poetic, almost calligraphy of the inarticulate.

He has exhibited all over the world, and collectors prize these highly expressive works.

EXHIBITIONS

2011 :  Un peintre sous influence vaudou, Maison du Conseil General, Beauvais, France

2010 :  Festival, Smithsonian Museum, Washington D.C, USA

2009:  Le dernier voyage d’André Malraux en Haïti, Musée de Montparnasse, Paris, France

2007 :  David Barnett Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

2004 :  Haïti couleurs, Haïti douleurs, Médiathèque de Nancy, Nancy, France

2002 :  World Bank, Washington D.C., USA

2001 :  Sak Pase, MIA Gallery at Miami International Airport, Miami, USA

2000 :  Haitian Celebration, Museum or Art, Coral Springs, Florida, USA

1988 :  Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, France

1987 :  Where Art is Joy, Queens College CUNY, Queens, NY, USA

1986 :  Villa Médici, Rome, Italy