Pierre-Joseph Valcin (Haitian, 1925-2000)

Pierre-Joseph Valcin was born in Port-au-Prince in 1925 and made significant contributions to the art world. Before establishing himself as a painter, Valcin worked as a mechanic and stone mason. His journey into painting began in 1959 when he was introduced to the Centre d’Art by his half-brother, the renowned painter Gerard Valcin. Under Gerard's guidance, Pierre-Joseph sharpened his skills during his first year at the Centre d’Art. While his work reflects Gerard’s influence, it is notably looser, less stylized, and more intuitive. Pierre-Joseph Valcin kept creating art through the 1990s and left a remarkable legacy when he died in 2000. His works are part of the permanent collections at well-known institutions, including the Musée d’Art Haitien, the Davenport Museum of Art in Iowa, the Waterloo Museum of Art, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. His art has also been featured in important publications such as Haitian Arts (Nadal-Gardere and Bloncourt, 1986), Haiti: Art Naif, Art Vodou (1988), Dialogue du Réel et de l’Imaginaire (1990), Haiti: Actualities and Belief (Roche, 1990), and Island on Fire (Demme, 1997).