EDOUARD Duval-Carrié

The Chevalier Guru

Edouard Duval-Carrié is a famous Haitian artist known for his mixed-media paintings encompassing magic realism, Voodoo, and mythology exploring the Caribbean’s complex history with Western colonialism. He is an integral part of the Little Haiti community where he has his studio, has raised his kids, and has served as curator for many exhibits at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. His work has won numerous awards and is part of the private collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Pérez Art Museum, and the Musée de Panthéon National Haïtien among others. After attending Université de Montréal and McGill University in Canada, he spent many years in Paris where he attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was awarded the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. 

We visited his beautiful studio when he was finishing a monumental work of the Everglades composed of several 30-foot panels that will be installed in the new downtown courthouse at the end of this year. He is fascinated by the natural beauty of the Everglades, depicting the flora and fauna in a magical environment that seems untouched by humans almost as if he was painting what nature created five thousand years ago. Watch our interview to learn how he was commissioned by South Africa to create artwork that addresses the complex dynamics of the Caribbean today with colonialism. Hear how he started his studio and almost lost it to the city when they were trying to build the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. Learn about the Centre d’Art and how it propelled Haitian art to Europe. You can also go to our Guru Guides section and follow our self-guided Little Haiti Guru Guide to discover this unique neighborhood.