The Enduring Spirit of Haitian Metal Sculpture

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CONTACT: Charles Schuler 
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The Enduring Spirit of Haitian Metal Sculpture 
New exhibition celebrates the distinctly Haitian art form of cut-metal sculpture and honors some of Haiti’s most important sculptors, including Georges Liautaud and Gabriel Bien-Aimé, whose work reflects the enduring spirit of Haiti.

Haiti has long celebrated a rich artistic and cultural heritage. Georges Liautaud (1899–1991) ignited the Haitian metal sculpture movement in the 1950s in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. A blacksmith by trade, he fashioned crosses for public cemeteries before creating more elaborate cut-metal works. Liautaud disseminated the art form to emerging artists, such as Murat Brièrre (1938–88) and the Louisjuste brothers, Sérésier, Janvier, and Joseph (1940–89). They, in turn, taught others in Croix-des-Bouquets, including Serge Jolimeau (b. 1952) and Gabriel Bien-Aimé (b. 1951), Haiti’s two leading metal sculptors working today.

Discarded steel oil drums have historically served as the base material for Haitian metal artists. The drums are flattened into sheets and designs are chalked on; pieces are then cut and sculpted using only hand tools and further enhanced by hammering, embossing, cutting holes, and bending the metal. Sculptures reflect everyday life portraits, imaginative themes, and motifs of Haitian Vodou, an African Diasporic religion. Some of the many forms that appear include angels and winged creatures, mermaids and other aquatic figures, musical bands, animals, and earthly, paradisiacal scenes.

Special thank you to members of the Haitian Art Society—Anthony Fisher, Larry Kent, and Susan Tselos, for making this exhibition possible, and to Dr. Kyrah Malika Daniels for providing her scholarly expertise.

Visit sfommuseum.org for more information

The Enduring Spirit of Haitian Metal Sculpture is located pre-security in the Mayor Edwin M. Lee International Departures Hall, San Francisco International Airport. This exhibition is on view to all Airport visitors from August 19, 2023–August 25, 2024. There is no charge to view the exhibition.

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About SFO Museum

Established in 1980 by the Airport Commission, SFO Museum’s mission is to delight, engage, and inspire a global audience with programming on a broad range of subjects; to collect, preserve, interpret, and share the history of commercial aviation; and to enrich the public experience at San Francisco International Airport. The Museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1999 and retains the distinction of being the only accredited museum in an airport.

Today, SFO Museum operates more than twenty-five sites throughout the Airport terminals, including fourteen galleries that exhibit a rotating schedule of art, history, photography, science, and cultural exhibitions. Among the sites is the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, which houses a permanent collection of more than 160,000 objects related to the history of commercial aviation. To browse current and past exhibitions, research our collection, or for more information, please visit www.sfomuseum.org. Follow us on www.facebook.com/sfomuseum, www.twitter.com/sfomuseum, or www.instagram.com/sfomuseum.

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