BIOGRAPHY
Myrlande Constant was born 1968 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She is known for her striking beaded and sequin-embellished textile artworks (known as drapo Vodou). In 2023, Fort Gansevoort presented Drapo, the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York. In 2023 the solo exhibition Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance was presented at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles, CA. In 2022 her work was featured in The Milk of Dreams, La Biennale di Venezia, 59th International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy. Constant’s work has been featured in important group exhibitions at numerous museums and institutions including the Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK; Grand Palais, Paris, France; Nottingham Contemporary Gallery, Nottingham, UK; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA; Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL; and Brown University, Providence, RI among others. Constant’s work is included in the following museum collections: Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa; Fowler Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN;; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL; RISD Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL; Waterloo Center for the Arts, Waterloo, IA; and Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA among others. Myrlande Constant is represented by Fort Gansevoort, New York.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance, Fowler Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
Myrlande Constant: Drapo, Fort Gansevoort, New York, NY.
2019
The Last Supper, Faena Foundation, Art Basel, Miami Beach, FL.
2018
Myrlande Constant, Central Fine, Miami Beach, FL.
2017
Myrlande Constant, El-Saieh Gallery, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Unruly Navigations, Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA.
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK
Surrealism and Us: Caribbean and African Diasporic Artists since 1940, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
2023
Revival: Digging into Yesterday, Planting Tomorrow, 21c St. Louis, St.Louis, MO.
Latin American Art at Mia, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN.
In Our Eyes: Women’s, Nonbinary, and Transgender Perspectives from the Collection, Rollins Museum of Art, Winter Park, FL.
Cosmic Mirrors: Haitian Art Highlights from the Collection, NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Feeling of light, Almine Rech, Brussels, Belgium.
Myrlande Constant, Leah Gordon: A Figuration of Chronicles, Karma International, Zürich, Switzerland.
The New Bend, Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, UK.
2022
Black Indians From New Orleans, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris, France.
Who Speaks for the Oceans?, Mishkin Gallery, Baruch College, New York, NY.
The New Bend, Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles, CA.
The Milk of Dreams, La Biennale di Venezia, 59th International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy.
2021
Myrlande Constant, Andre Pierré, Jean-Hérard Celeur, Central Fine, Miami Beach, FL.
2020
All of Them Witches, Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, CA.
2019-20
Sacred Diagrams: Haitian Vodou Flags from the Gessen Collection, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL.
2019
PÓTOPRENS: The Urban Artists of Port-au-Prince, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL.
Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE.
2018
PÓTOPRENS: The Urban Artists of Port-au-Prince, Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, NY.
2017-18
Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA.
2015
Ghetto Biennale, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
2014-15
Haïti: Deux Siécles de Création Artistique, Grand Palais, Paris, France.
Transformative Visions: Works by Haitian Artists from the Permanent Collection, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Miami, FL.
2012-13
In Extremis: Death and Life in 21st-Century Haitian Art, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
Kafou: Haiti, Art and Vodou, Nottingham Contemporary Gallery, Nottingham, UK.
2011
Reframing Haiti: Art, History and Performativity, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Contemporary Haitian Textiles: Artists, Edgar, Jean-Baptiste Jean Joseph, Kongo La Wouze, Myrlande Constant, Little Haiti Cultural Center, Miami, FL.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Rollins Museum of Art, Winter Park, FL
American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Baruch College Art Collection, New York, NY
de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa
Fowler Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris, France
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL
RISD Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Selden Rodman Gallery, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
Waterloo Center for the Arts, Waterloo, IA
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA
PUBLICATIONS
2024
Frey-Smith, Wells, ed. Unravel: the power and politics of textiles in art. Munich: Prestel, in association with Barbican Art Gallery, London and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2024.
Oritz, María Elena. Surrealism and Us: Caribbean and African Diasporic Artists Since 1940. Fort Worth: DelMonico Books/Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 2024.
2022
Noël, James. “To Those Jaded by Disasters”, Transition: The Magazine of Africa and the Diaspora, no. 133, Bloomington, IN: Indian University Press.
Gordon, Leah. PÓTOPRENS: The Urban Artists of Port-au-Prince. New York: Pioneer Works Press, 2022.
Russell, Legacy. The New Bend. Hauser & Wirth, 2022.
Smith, Katherine and Jerry Philogene, eds. Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance.
Los Angeles: Fowler Museum at UCLA, 2022.
2017
Flores, Tatiana, and Michelle Ann Stephens, eds. Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago. Durham: Duke University Press, 2017.
2015
Transformative Visions: Works by Haitian Artists from the Permanent Collection. Coral Gables: Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, 2015.
2014
Haïti: Deux Siécles de Création Artistique. Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2014.
2012
Farquharson, Alex, and Leah Gordon. Kafou: Haiti, Art and Vodou. Nottingham: Nottingham Contemporary Gallery, 2012.
2011
Contemporary Haitian Textiles: Artists, Edgar, Jean-Baptiste Jean Joseph, Kongo La Wouze, Myrlande Constant. Miami: Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance, 2011.
Cosentino, Donald. "Baby on the Blender: a Visual History of Catastrophe in Haiti." Small Axe: a Caribbean Journal of Criticism. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011.
PRESS
2024
Ch'ien, Letha. “‘Unruly Navigations’ challenges expectations about diaspora, embraces beauty in complexity.” San Francisco Chronicle. June 15
Sharma, Manu. “The Modern Art Museum presents pan-African surrealism in a large group show.” Stir world. May 19.
Rabb, Maxwell. “Prospect New Orleans announces artist list for its 2024 triennial.” Artsy. January 26.
Durón, Maximilíano. “New Orleans’s Prospect.6 Triennial Names 49 Artists for 2024 Edition Opening in November.” ARTnews. January 25.
Sutton, Benjamin. “Sixth edition of Prospect New Orleans will feature 49 artists’ works throughout the city.” The Art Newspaper. January 25.
2023
Saltz, Jerry. “The Best New York Art Shows of 2023.” New York Magazine. December 7.
Ludel, Wallace. “US National Gallery of Art receives its first works of Haitian art, via two gifts.” The Art Newspaper. November 13.
Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra. “DC’s National Gallery Acquires Its First Haitian Artworks Through Two Major Donations”.” Observer. November 13.
Vittoria Benzine. “Myrlande Constant Channels the Divine.” Frieze. July 20.
Remenchik, Jennifer. “Myrlande Constant Composes the Tapestries of Life.” Hyperallergic. June 27.
Conner, Allison Noelle. “Embroidering the Otherworldly.” Blackstar. June.
Stromberg, Matt. “10 Art Shows to See in LA This Summer.” Hyperallergic. June 13.
Rosa, Amanda. “Mermaids, Vodou and the cosmos converge at this Haitian art exhibition in Fort Lauderdale.” WLRN. June 9.
“Haitian Heritage Month: Celebrate These 4 Contemporary Haitian Artists in New Florida Exhibition.” Ebony. May 26.
Osberg, Annabel. “Critic’s Pick: Myrlande Constant, Fowler Museum UCLA.” Artforum. May 18.
Dambrot, Shana Nys. “Enter the Fantastical World of Myrlande Constant at the Fowler.” LA Weekly. May 4.
Stern, Melissa. “Myrlande Constant: Drapo at Fort Gansevoort.” The Haitian Times. April 29.
Poundstone, William. “Myrlande Constant at the Fowler.” Los Angeles County Museum on Fire. April 17.
Gordon, Eric. “‘Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance’ a Haitian woman’s first U.S. exhibition.” People’s World. March 30.
Woelfle, Alice. “Myrlande Constant exhibition honors the labor of working-class artists.” npr.org. March 30.
Vargas, Steven. “Weekly Countdown.” Los Angeles Times. March 29.
Duffy, Maggie. “We talked to art critic Jerry Saltz before he comes to Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg.” Tampa Bay Times. March 23.
David D’Arcy. “Visual Arts Review: The Dazzling Vodou Flags of Myrlande Constant.” The Arts Fuse. March 12.
Saltz, Jerry. “The Beaded Masterpieces of Myrlande Constant.” New York Magazine. March 7.
Collins, Ann. “Myrlande Constant: Drapo.” The Brooklyn Rail. March 1.
Minsky, Tequila. “Fort Gansevoort Gallery presents Myrlande Constant: Drapo.” The Villager. February 8.
“Myrlande Constant’s Elevated Realms of Folk Art at Fort Gansevoort Gallery.” Art Currently. January 31.
Mitter, Siddhartha. “An Artist Who Blends Secular and Sacred (With Sequins).” The New York Times. January 25.
Scott, Andrea. “Myrlande Constant.” The New Yorker. January 24.
Barker, John. “Myrlande Constant exhibit opens in Chelsea art space.” Amsterdam News. January 19.
Kamogawa, Hiroko. “The Thread of Things.” Departures. January.
Dambrot, Shana Nys. “Art Season Highlights: 12 Shows to See This Winter and Spring.” LA Weekly. January 12.
2022
King, Nelson. “Haitian artist Myrlande Constant to exhibit ‘Drapo’ at Fort Gansevoort Gallery.” Caribbean Life. December 20.
Jansen, Charlotte. “Meet the art world’s glitterati.” Financial Times. November 23.
Scott, Andrea K. “Who Speaks for the Oceans?” The New Yorker. October 3.
D’Arcy, David. “Skulls and sequins: book celebrates the art of the Haitian streets.” The Art Newspaper. May 17.
Chow, Vivienne. “Here Are 9 Exciting Artists Whose Markets Are Poised to Reach the Next Level After Remarkable Outings at the Venice Biennale.” Artnet News. May 5.
Farago, Jason. “Looking Inward, and Back, at a Biennale for the History Books.” The New York Times. April 30.
Behrens, Edward. “’A curatorial masterclass’ - the 59th Venice Biennale, reviewed.” Apollo. April 29.
Rea, Naomi. “The Venice Biennale Power List: Here Is Every Gallery Representing an Artist at the 59th Edition of the Venice Biennale.” Artnet New., April 18.
2021
D’Arcy, David. “Haitian artists show in Miami but worry about home.” The Art Newspaper. November 29.
Pietroni, David Guido. “Haitian Artist Myrlande Constant Joins Fort Gansevoort in New York.” The Arts Insider. November 29.
Juste, André. “Myrlande Constant: Marshaling the Underworld.” Haiti Liberte. November 24.
Solomon, Tessa. “Myrlande Constant, Maker of Mesmerizing Voudou Flags, Has Joined Fort Gansevoort.” ARTnews. November 24.
2011
Ulysse, Gina. “Constant: Haiti's Fiercest Flag Bearer.” Huffington Post. April 14.
FILM
2023
Myrlande Constant: Staging the Invisible, directed by Natacha Giafferi-Dombre (documentary)