Lyle O. Reitzel Contemporary Gallery, founded in 1995, presents a solo show by Edouard Duval-Carrié (b. 1954) titled “Kingdom of this World and Other Stories”. The opening will take place Thursday, September 6th at the gallery’s Lower East Side location.

The exhibition displays a collection of Duval-Carrié’s works, often featuring overtly political and magical attempts to embody the struggles and resilience of the Haitian people.

Edouard Duval-Carrié was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and spent his late childhood years in Puerto Rico. His work features Vodou deities and spirits along with portrayals of oppressive colonial and contemporary regimes. The result offers insights into the paradoxes of Haitian existence, as well as a vision of the integrity of Haiti’s ritual practices. In the essay Tales of a Divided Island: Recent Paintings by Edouard Duval-Carrié Edward J. Sullivan describes his works as a “fitting gesture of both cultural rapprochement and reconsideration of the historical panorama that deeply affects the two nations that share this divided island of Hispaniola.”

Duval-Carrié was educated at the University of Loyola Montreal, Quebec, in Canada; and at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. His works are part of the collections of important museums and institutions such as The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan; Musee des Art Africains et ceaniens, Paris France; Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, Iowa; Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami, Florida; Musee de Pantheon National Haitien, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey (MARCO), Monterrey, Mexico; among others. In 2014 he was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the Consul General of France, Mr. Philippe Letrilliart. Duval- Carrié moved to Miami in 1992 and swiftly established himself as an integral factor in the city’s cultural fabric. Mr. Duval-Carrié is additionally curating PÒTOPRENS, a concurrent showcase of Haitian artists based in Port-áu- Prince at Pioneer Works. There has been a robust debate concerning the concept of Magical Realism established with Alejo Carpentier’s wonderful novel “The Kingdom of this World”. Notwithstanding the various discourses and critical assessments of the concept and the novel, artist Edouard Duval-Carrié revisited and illustrated in his fashion the content of the novel. The novel traces the life of young slave boy Ti Noel from his beginnings as page boy at the De Mezy Plantation in the Cap Francais to his demise as unwanted gander within the ruins of Sans Souci.

Alongside other works the Lyle O’ Reitzel Gallery invites you to visit this long awaited exhibit of this singular Haitian-American artist.