Mario Benjamin’s Work Added to the Centre d’Art Collection

In January 2023, a painting by Mario Benjamin was added to the Centre d’Art’s permanent collection. It is the first work by this visual artist to become part of the collection.

The untitled painting was created in 2021. “At that time, the coronavirus was still raging and continued to stir fear,” recalls Mario Benjamin.

“We were all afraid. This painting, which is part of a series, reflects a psyche shaped by fear and anxiety,” he commented.

This painting, Mario emphasized, is part of the spontaneous, snapshot-like nature of his work. “These are paintings that are made in a few seconds, a minute, or even an hour — but never more,” he explained.

The painting’s inclusion in the collection was approved in January 2023 by the Board of Directors, following an evaluation by the Scientific Council. The work was acquired in 2022. It is a 50 x 70-inch painting created using “burst spray cans applied instantly to the canvas, along with the use of spongy materials.”

This is the first work by Mario Benjamin to be added to the Centre d’Art’s collection. “It was an anomaly that we didn’t yet have a work by Mario Benjamin,” acknowledged Allenby Augustin, Executive Director of the Centre d’Art. “Mario is a major figure in Haitian contemporary art.”

“When I was appointed director, I took the initiative to include his works in our collection. I proposed the acquisition to the Board, which quickly approved and endorsed the decision,” he explained.
“More works will certainly follow,” assured the Executive Director. “Our acquisition policy is aimed at strengthening our collection with creations by leading contemporary artists,” he noted.

Mario Benjamin and the Centre d’Art have enjoyed a friendly relationship for nearly a decade. “I believe it was under the leadership of Louise Perrichon-Jean,” Mario Benjamin recalls.

“In the past, I was a critic of the Centre d’Art. I didn’t support its ongoing promotion of naïve art. I believe that aesthetic had its moment, and it was time to move forward,” he explained.

Mario led his first workshop at the Centre d’Art as part of a carte blanche residency. He used the opportunity to collaborate with young artists connected to the Centre’s network.

In 2019, he curated the exhibition Island Template: Île modèle: Manman zile by Thessa Mars, one of the Centre’s most impactful exhibitions of the past decade.

Mario also curated both editions of the visual arts program. “What has impressed me the most in my various collaborations with the Centre is certainly the Atelier CDA 2023, for which I was the artistic director, as well as the latest exhibition, which I consider to be a beautiful example of cecography, with magnificent pieces,” confided Mario Benjamin.