Thierry Alet

Thierry Alet, a graduate of the Pratt Institute, has been working as a professional artist since the 1990s. Over his career, he has used text for his signature series which he refers to as the manuscript paintings. He has painted text on canvas, on walls and as murals.

He paints with a brush or he engraves letters on fresh paint to create a fresco-like effect. While the texts he uses make for aesthetically pleasing and vibrant art, poignant words, phases or passages are usually appropriated from noteworthy historical poets and writers. Falling somewhere between calligraphy and graffiti, the text may begin as social commentary, as the most prominent element of the art; however, with the compulsive repetition of the text, the gestures and the process of the art may ultimately supersede.

His Dream Series is a departure in more ways than one. In this instance, for the first time, Alet paints on African wax fabric and the text he uses is his own. “I dream the same dream over and over again” is in reference to Martin Luther King’s icon speech. Using African wax fabric, itself fraught with a complex history, adds another layer of meaning and begs even more questions. The audience must decide how each of these pieces can be woven together for a meaningful, layered narrative.

Alet lives and practises art in Gaudeloupe and New York. He has exhibited widely in the US and France. His work can be found as several public installations and most notably, a piece that is part of the permanent exhibit in the Memorial of Slavery and the Slave Trade Museum in Guadeloupe. He is often referenced in publications about noteworthy contemporary Caribbean artists.

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