Press Release: RESIDUE Exhibition by Jean Patrick Icart-Pierre

 

Atlanta, GA – RESIDUE is an exhibition of Alpharetta-based visual artist Jean Patrick Icart-Pierre. Opening on September 28, 2022, this two-week exhibition at Echo Contemporary Art presents Icart-Pierre’s latest interdisciplinary series of works to the public for the first time. An exploration of the transgenerational impact of slavery on the modern black community, these works manipulate medium, process, and subject into striking dialogs about what it means to be black today.

The spirit of slavery continues to resonate in our contemporary society. The dehumanization, subjugation, and violence that stemmed from the colonial regime still ring true in new forms. It is the need to heal, the need to overcome, and the need to reform the systemic oppressions of our world that unites the work within Icart-Pierre’s exhibition. There is a stain, a mark of degradation, a pollutant that envelopes the black psyche. Paintings integrate with readymade sculptural installations, an interplay that spurs a conversation about these perceptions and experiences of this collective inherited trauma.

“The disaster of chattel slavery is ongoing, these paintings try to suggest the precarities of these afterlives of slavery.” Jean Patrick Icart-Pierre, Artist

Icart-Pierre positions his viewers face to face with the individuals trudging through these afterlives. Portraits of everyday people in everyday activities are shown in vivid color on monumentally sized canvases. However, something is different. Drips of paint extend upward defying the laws of science. This is because every painting was constructed upside down, forcing the artist to reconceive not only his own perspective but challenging the presumed perspectives within us all. The act of painting upside down, therefore, becomes a politicized act in and of itself as they capture the subtle moments and nuances of the presence that embody this haunted past. 

Complementing each painting, a panel of homemade camouflage. Camouflage, once an iconography of safety and protection, transforms into a symbol of the pressures of black Americans to assimilate, to blend in, and to not disturb society at large; otherwise, their lives may be in peril. The panel reveals the need to hide, that there are predators lurking, and the environment in which the black community inhabits is filled with danger. Mounted to the panel is a backpack overflowing with rope that extends into the viewer’s space and down to the floor. Rope, both a lifeline and a weapon, weighs down each bag. It is the burden of slavery that rests upon the backs of black individuals - always carrying, always persevering, and yet never completely moving forward. 

In these works, Icart-Pierre transforms perceptions of space. He encourages the viewer to embark on an experience, a journey, rather than passively view an image or object meticulously curated and displayed. This exhibition takes on an immersive form, pulling the viewers into a new realm of Icart-Pierre’s design, and forcing them to relinquish their control. Now confronted by an affront of imagery triggering an unseen number of violent scenarios, viewers are forced to acknowledge the hidden stories, the neglected people, and the ongoing looming threat that perpetuates from our unresolved lineage of traumas.

The exhibition of Icart-Pierre’s series will be on view at Echo Contemporary Art at the Guardian Studios Building in Northwest Atlanta. The exhibition will be open to the public during open hours Wednesdays through Saturdays from September 28 to October 7, 2022, with an Opening Reception event on Friday, September 30, 2022. 

RESIDUE

September 28 - October 7, 2022

Opening Reception

September 30, 2022

6 pm - 8 pm

Echo Contemporary Art @ Guardian Studios building

785 Echo Street NW

Atlanta, GA  30317

Wednesdays-Fridays: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturdays: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Jean Patrick Icart-Pierre is a Haitian-born artist currently based in Alpharetta, Georgia. Emigrating to the United States in 1975, Icart-Pierre landed in Brooklyn and embarked on his artistic journey. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Cooper Union in New York and went on to work as an art teacher in New York City’s public school system. He completed his Masters of Fine Art from Brooklyn College under the tutelage of abstract painter William T. William. Since retiring from over two decades in the school system, he has reinvigorated his artistic practice. Building upon his foundation in painting, his practice has evolved into sculptural works that combine elements of text, paint, and found objects to initiate a commentary on relevant issues including race, politics, and consumerism.

Icart-Pierre’s work has gained international acclaim with reviews in The New York Times, New York Newsday, and Kenya's The Nation and The Standard and has been exhibited at The Brooklyn Museum, MoMA PS1, Kenkeleba Gallery, and The Skylight Gallery. He was awarded the Artist-in Marketplace honor from The Bronx Museum, as well as being featured as an artist-in-residence at Paa-Ya-Paa Arts Center in Nairobi, Kenya, and The Jamaica Arts Center in Queens, NY.