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Francks Deceus
Mumbo #10 - Black identity in contemporary art, Edouard Duval-Carrié

2020

$3,800
£2,886.19
€3,319.65
CA$5,309.34
A$5,920.52
CHF 3,089.08
MX$72,647.02
NOK 39,319
SEK 37,253.90
DKK 24,775.78
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About the Item

Francks Deceus’s Mumbo Jumbo series comes alive in this dynamic and visually arresting painting. The composition features swirling ribbons of orange and cream, fragmented fire hose motifs that dominate the canvas and entwine a barely visible figure. This piece intensifies the sense of chaos and confinement, suggesting the overwhelming societal pressures and historical struggles that shape identity. The bold reds and oranges evoke emotional urgency, while playful emojis scattered throughout the painting provide a stark contrast, highlighting the tension between lighthearted symbols and deeper cultural narratives. Deceus’s exploration of Black identity resonates strongly, much like the work of Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié, who similarly fuses surrealism with cultural iconography. The title Mumbo Jumbo references Ishmael Reed’s novel, where distorted identity and societal constraints are central themes. Here, the frenetic energy and tangled forms mirror Reed’s narrative, reflecting the complexity of navigating identity within a system of external pressures. This work serves as a thought-provoking addition to any interior, offering layers of visual and conceptual richness. Francks F. Deceus was born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. He moved to NYC when he was nine years old. He currently resides and maintains a studio in Brooklyn, NY. He received a B.A. in sociology from the Long Island University, NY, in 1992. He has studied printmaking at the Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. In February 2008 he was the recipient, of the Samella Lewis Award. Group exhibitions include the Brooklyn Museum, NY; Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MOCADA), Brooklyn, NY; The National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN; Gallery M, New York, NY; and Hampton University, Hampton, VA. His work is in private and public collections, including Xavier University, New Orleans, LA; Schomburg Center, New York Public Library, NY; Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site House museum, Yonkers; New York, and International African American Museum, Charleston, SC; His work has been featured in publications such as The International Revue of African-American Art and The Village Voice, as well as being included in " 100 New York Painters ", by Cynthia Maris Dantzic.
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    2020
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 19 in (48.26 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: FD0411stDibs: LU249215652612

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Mumbo Jumbo BK#1 - Ironic Figurative Painting with Pink and Blue Colors
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Francks Deceus’ “Mumbo Jumbo BK#1” is a 20 x 16 inch acrylic paint, color pencil, and collage painting on canvas. The main colors are pink, blue and red. The image is very playful, showing a man dressed as a superhero standing next to an entangled fire hose. The title “Mumbo Jumbo, is inspired by Ishmael Reed’s book under the same titled, where he attempted to capsulate the complexities of the African American experience. For Deceus is about capturing the complexity of his experience as an immigrant from Haiti back in the 1970s. A series of very colorful and playful works, focusing on the adventures of one figure named “Cappy”. The name is derived from Deceus family home town, Cap Haitien. Cappy is Deceus alter-ego; The images are intentionally drawn in the vein of comic strips with Cappy as the superhero. He goes out in the world and has to solve the kind of frightening experiences Deceus knew about as a Haitian immigrant, which in the paintings are ironically represented by the hose/snake snarling Cappy. Stylistically Deceus work incorporates many of the aesthetic forms of artists like Norman Lewis and Howardena...
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2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

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Mumbo Jumbo NYC#10 - Ironic Figurative Painting with Orange, and Blue Colors
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Francks Deceus’ “Mumbo Jumbo NYC#10” is a 30 x 24 inch acrylic paint, color pencil, and collage painting on canvas. The main colors are orange, blue and red....
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Spring Break Afternoon #2 - Vibrant Colors, Haitian Artist, Caribbean Influence
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Parris Jaru's The Last Time I Saw It is a 16 x 11-inch surrealist oil painting. The primary colors are black and red. The canvas surface has a thick impasto of paint, made with plant-based pigments that Jaru collects during his long exploratory trips through India. The imagery brings a surrealist human figure, with all the body features exaggerated as if in a caricature. NY-born Parris Jaru comes from a Jamaican, Blackfoot Nation, and Arawak Nation background from both his parents. His work is informed by the vivid colors and imagery experienced in his childhood years spent in the coastal town of St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. His exploratory journeys in India enriched his work with a sensibility to natural plant-based pigments that he grinds with oils for his paintings. In his Brooklyn studio, Jaru brings all these cultural inspirations together. His entire body of work is informed by an intentional childlike, faux-naïve style, constantly shifting between figurative and abstraction. Even though at times, Jaru has been working on somber and entirely figure-free paintings, most of his work is defined by poignantly colored and playful surrealistic figures. Jaru often draws his figures with a continuous line emerging from a thick impasto of paint made with powders of Sea Algae, Hibiscus, Gymnema Sylvestre, and Turmeric. Related keywords: Caribbean Artist...
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