Mario Benjamin is a unique figure in the landscape of  both Haitian and contemporary art. His works described as installations and performances are more concerned to express the poetry of a space than to express a  demand or criticism of our (his) society. However, his  painting remains one of the major aspects of his work,  never anachronistic, always deeply moving.  in this  early 21st century that leaves gives little space to the  discipline, it is a return to the age-old continuity of the  artist’s hand.

Mario Benjamin - Sans Titre- Huile Sur Toile - 122 x 76 cm. 2005

This personal painting, which Mario benjamin creates in a state of solitary, tragic confrontation, plunges the  observer into another world nourished by beliefs, visions and inventions. like mirrors, his painted figures  recall the nightmares of childhood, the fearfulness of life and the disturbing prospect of death. In so doing Mario Benjamin’s work represents those things within us that we cannot reveal.

Mario Benjamin - Détail of Huile Sur Toile - 76 x 122 cm. 2012

Well into his forties, having taken part in the most important exhibitions, including several appearances at  the biennials of Venice, São Paulo and Havana, Mario Benjamin is no longer an artist to be discovered, but  one who merits full recognition. Having proclaimed his talent for the last twenty years, revue noire has now published the first monograph on his work and is presenting an exhibition focused on his painting, including previously unseen series, to run for three months in Maison Revue Noire in Paris.

Text by Jean Loup Pivin – Translation by Trista Selous. For more information visit Revue Noire.  Maison Revue Noire is located at 8 rue Cels, 75014 Paris, France and the exhibition is on view from from the 14^th of November 2012 to February 23^rd 2013.