Erlin Geffrard

Donated by the Artist.

Born and raised in West Palm Beach FL, (into a Haitian American family of Baptist and Voudoun religion) Geffrard confronted a childhood identity crisis, largely made up of environmental and spiritual conflicts. Geffrard states “the racial identity of the south combined with the amount of violence in the neighborhood made me just another black person. However, at home, I was taught to stand with perfect posture and have pride in my motherland which was the first black-led republic of the world. This gave me experiences unique to West Palm Beach and exposed me to an idiosyncratic vantage of ethnicity, human beings, and cultures from around the world. I finally see the world as a rainbow that needs constant balance. Illuminating the inner workings of one painter’s mind.” Ordained at age 19, this fifth generation Haitian Voudon priest struggles to understand his divine title. Geffrard states “dealing with issues such as Hollywood’s depiction of zombies, and their creation of race culture. By re-appropriating religious, cultural, political, and historical allegories, and symbolism, I draw in my audience.” The representations that are given to the public are meant to be understood in the context of art. Known for experimental installations which ask us to contemplate and re-evaluate our roles in the dystopian society in which we are born into.

https://erlin-geffrard.squarespace.com/paintings-1/