Viktor El-Saieh creates rich and vibrant paintings that examine mythology and its relation to structures of power in society. Although he was never academically trained, El-Saieh grew up immersed in the world of Haitian art. His family ran a prominent gallery in Port-au-Prince, exposing El-Saieh to painting from an early age. Influenced by Philomé Obin, Seymour Etienne Bottex, André Normil, and other Haitian master painters, the artist’s works evaluate his country’s history. A student of political science as well as Haitian painting, El-Saieh interrogates Haiti’s historical and present leadership while examining how it has spilled into the country’s folkloric culture. For El-Saieh, painting serves as a means with which to simultaneously deconstruct and re-tell history through popular myth.
