Sébastien JEAN is a Haitian artist born in the heights of the metropolis of Port-au-Prince.
He took up painting at an early age, initially encouraged by a mother who was sensitive to art but later proved reluctant to celebrate all its forms of expression.
Sébastien groped around for a long time, experimenting with all kinds of materials, learning the fundamentals of color, volume and composition by dint of plastic liberties.
He frequents galleries and studios, and is inspired by the work of contemporary artists such as Barbara Prezeau Stephenson and Mario Benjamin. It was with the latter that Sébastien found and refined his own style.
He brings to light a singular universe populated by predatory monsters, birds of prey and wandering ghosts. A spectral vision of a tormented world immersed in smoky hues.
Some of his canvases reflect his inner self, complex, shimmering but shrouded in darkness. The expressiveness and luminosity of a Haitian society trapped in the dark jails of its past? His paintings convey an urgency to do before the worst catches up with us, an urgency to say before we are muzzled.
His success, like his life, his loves and his enmities, has been overwhelming. Sébastien JEAN exhibited his work in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, France, Belgium, Spain and the United States.
He's gone, just as he left his mark on collectors' hearts: in a flash.
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