Foreign Black Bodies
Pascal Lafontant
October 29-December 1
Opening Celebration: November 4, 2-4 PM, Central Library Art Gallery
About the Artist
Pascal’s paintings explore Afro-Caribbean-Haitian mythologies, geopolitics and identities, the presence and meaning of Black Foreign Bodies in the United states. They address questions of migrations, exodus, arrivals, and belonging. His work brings forward the disquiet and tension engendered by the presence of Black southern-hemispheric bodies in northern-hemispheric spaces. His narratives conjure the Afro-Caribbean water deity Simbi, La Sirene/Lasiren (Haiti), or Mami Wata (East and West Africa), embodied as a Black mermaid, reimagined as guide and protector. He invites viewers to reflect on the humanity of migrants, and to ponder the potential effects of climate change on migratory patterns.
Pascal grew up in Miragoane and Port-au Prince, Haiti. He has lived in the Northeast, Southwest, and U.S. Midwest for over three decades. He is a professor of Biology at Grinnell College.
Contact
Email: pilaf2025@gmail.com
Art Gallery History
In 1916, the Des Moines Public Library, working in partnership with the newly-formed Des Moines Association of Fine Arts, made a gallery space available in order to “purchase and hold title to paintings acquired for the benefit of the public, and to bring exhibitions to the city.” Several exhibitions were shown each year, and works of art were periodically purchased for the association’s permanent collection. After a period of inactivity in the 1930s due to the Depression, the DMAF in 1938 moved their collection to a building on Walnut Street, and, with funding from the Works Progress Administration in the 1940s, provided galleries and studio space. The Des Moines Association of Fine Arts voluntarily dissolved in 1945 and their assets were turned over to the [James] Edmundson Art Foundation. That entity funded construction of the new Des Moines Art Center, which opened at its present location on Grand Avenue in 1948.
The Art Gallery at the Central Library, which opened in May 2016, is located on the second floor and offers an accessible and welcoming environment for encouraging and celebrating Iowa artists. Exhibitions of original artwork will engage, enrich, and be enjoyed by our patrons and enhance our community as a whole. These exhibitions expand the library’s role and bolster creative and expressive energy in the Des Moines community.
We are excited to continue the rich tradition of art at the Des Moines Public Library into a second century. Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you at the gallery!