Chantal Bethel’s work represents not only The Bahamas, but also her birthplace in Haiti, and her childhood home in Belgium. Her art is complex and multilayered, like the artist herself. Bethel’s work reflects her story of discovery, healing, love, hope, and transformation.
Newsworthy
Expo 2020, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Bahamas Pavillion
Grand Opening October 8th, 2021—Exhibition continues until March 31, 2022
Artist Chantal Bethel showcases her pieces Agonistes I and Agonistes II at The Bahamas Pavillion in Dubai.
Having experienced three hurricanes that hit The Bahamas, Bethel was inspired to create a series of works entitled Agonistes —a stark portrayal of the emotional experience of surviving hurricanes—including killer storm Dorian.
“The title, Agonistes is often found as an epithet following a person’s name meaning “struggler” or “combatant”. It is the title of the poem by Milton, portraying Samson’s life, and is the Greek form of the word agony. It seemed to perfectly encapsulate the experience of the people and alludes to their strength and religious belief. Chantal’s evocative use of weathered wood on which the figures are painted is a blatant comment on the physical destruction by the storms and serves as a reminder of how displaced people were in the aftermath.”
— by Susan Moir Mackay in an excerpt from her essay Agonistes, written in 2005 at beginning of Chantal’s art series.
Agonistes I and Agonistes II by Chantal Bethel on display at The Bahamas Pavillion in Dubai through March 31, 2022
Bird series by Chantal Bethel now on view at The Current Art Gallery, BahaMar Resort, Nassau, The Bahamas.
CURRENT EXHIBITION
through Spring 2022
The Current Art Gallery · BahaMar Resort
Nassau, The Bahamas
Poto Mitan by Chantal Bethel at the Haitian American Museum of Art in Chicago (HAMOC), USA through December 2021.
Priyè Pou Ayiti. Prayer For Haiti.
Prayer for Haiti, curated by the Waterloo Center for the Arts, in collaboration with the Haitian American Museum of Chicago (HAMOC). October–December 2021
Click here for more of Chantal Bethel’s Exhibitions and Art.
One Voice
Catharsis