HISPANIOLA: A Celebration of Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Part of a campus-wide celebration of culture of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the exhibition Hispaniola is comprised of a large body of work on loan from the Haitian collection of Dion Kohler and a small selection of permanent collection Haitian works that were given to OUMA by the Melamed family.

The Kohler Collection is based primarily on first and second generation Haitian Masters who painted in the 60s, 70s and 80s, including Arijac, Prefete Duffaut, LaFortune Felix, Andre Normil and Seymour Bottex among others. Also on view will be a small selection of permanent collection Haitian works given to OUMA by the Melamed family, and a selection of loans from the Haitian collection of Andjela Kessler, OUMA advisory board member.

These primarily traditional Haitian works will be counterbalanced by a selection of contemporary pieces by emerging Dominican and Haitian/Dominican artists. Dominican American artist Pilar Martínez, who is based in Miami, received her MFA from SCAD, Atlanta in 2010. This emerging artist creates mixed media pieces that reflect, in her words, “the convergence of cultures and recollected experiences.” 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.