Description
Per the artist's biography: On canvas explosive with sensuous color, primitive artist Jean Joseph Monfort opens the gates of Paradise, flooding the viewer with the richness and drama of the Haiti he lived in for over 30 years. Born in Jeremie, Haiti in June 1951, Monfort played soccer professionally, traveling throughout the islands of St. Martin, the Dominican Republic, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Barbados with the soccer team becoming a well known Haitian athlete. Monfort began to paint in 1973. Inspired by the tradition of naif art in Haiti, he takes the simple, commonplace activities of daily life - working the sugarcane fields, turning can into molasses, washing clothes, fetching water - and creates an art that, while fantastical, evokes a deeper story. The sorrow, the poverty, the Haitian struggle for freedom, the roughness of days beneath the sweltering Caribbean sun. The work exposes a formidable talent; Monfort's precise technical skills can be found through the use of light and color in his nature scenes, which haunt the immigration and hint at a man of deep spirituality, a man who loves passionately his West Indian homeland, a man whose wonderfully startling memories seem to breathe life into his paintings, almost pulling the viewer down a dirt road at sunset, barefoot towards a turquoise sea. Jean came to Los Angeles, in 1982, and the next year began showing his work, with exhibitions at UCLA and California State University, Long Beach. His work has also been displayed in exhibitions of Black artists at the Fox Hills and Hawthorne Malls. He opened his own gallery, something to which he had aspired for many years. Because the artist is so prolific, his original canvas, diptychs, triptychs grace the walls of art collectors throughout the world. Monfort lived in Los Angeles, and besides painting about 10 hours a day, he coached and played soccer in the Inglewood soccer league. Some of his family still reside in Haiti where he returned to visit when he could, including drinking the wonderful Haitian rum.
Reserve: $300.00
Shipping:
Your purchase is protected:
In the rare event that the item did not conform to the lot description in the sale, Jasper52 specialists are here to help. Buyers may return the item for a full refund provided you notify Jasper52 within 5 days of receiving the item.
Condition
Used
Buyer's Premium
20%
JEAN JOSEPH MONFORT (1951-2020 Haitian) Dwellings by the Sea oil 2008 Unframed
Estimate $350-$400
Starting Price
$150
Shipping & Pickup DetailsItem located in: California, US $40 Shipping in the US
See More Items From This Jasper52 Seller
See More Items From This Jasper52 Seller
Ways to Pay on LiveAuctioneers
Wire Transfer (Bank Payment)
Meet the Auction House
10594
4.5
54925
Prints and Fine Art
Aug 6, 2026, 5:00 PM EDTNew York, NY, United States
Related Items
$220
$170
$300
$10
$40
(3 bids)
$100
$30
(2 bids)
$10
(1 bid)
$10
(1 bid)
$10
(1 bid)
$300
$300
TOP