Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance

March 26–July 16, 2023

The Work of Radiance is a retrospective of the groundbreaking 30-year-long career of Myrlande Constant, an artist renowned for her monumental, hand-beaded textiles. The first U.S. museum exhibition devoted to the work of a Haitian female contemporary artist, the presentation and its accompanying publication trace the evolution of Constant’s artistic vision, innovative techniques, and impact on art-making in Haiti and the contemporary art world.

Constant’s painstakingly beaded tapestries build on the drapo Vodou tradition and depict Haitians, Catholic saints, and Vodou spirits in both vast and intimate scenes of Haitian history and everyday life. The fully-illustrated monograph features essays by curators, artists, and cultural figures.

Credits

Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance is organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA and curated by Katherine Smith, Fowler curatorial and research associate of Haitian arts, and Jerry Philogene, associate professor of American Studies at Dickinson College, PA.

Lead support for the publication is provided by the R. L. Shep Endowment Fund at the Fowler Museum and the Donald B. Cordry Memorial Fund, with additional funding from Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and Fort Gansevoort Gallery.

Major support for the exhibition is provided by the Martha and Avrum Bluming Exhibition Fund and in part an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Generous support is also provided by the Ed Bradley Family Foundation, Clough/Hillenburg Fund, Donald B. Cordry Memorial Fund, Marla C. Berns Exhibition Endowment, Green Family Foundation Trust, and Pasadena Art Alliance, with additional funding from the Fowler Contemporary Council, Fowler Textile Council, Jay Geller and Lowell Gallagher, Fay Bettye Green Fund, the Higgins Family, Charlotte Chamberlain and Paul Wieselmann, Raquel and Bertram Lewitt, Connie McCreight, Robin and Gary Ungar, Tomm El-Saieh, Pooja Bhatia and Sumit Agarwal, and Fabiola Thébaud.

Educational programming and marketing is made possible by The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and Nissan Foundation.

Image: Myrlande Constant (b. 1968, Port-au-Prince, Haiti), Nègre Quimbois Lasirene Nègre an Dèzo (Water Spirits), 2013, beads on canvas, Fowler Museum at UCLA, X2013.13.1