“Art Got into Me”: The Work of Engels the Artist

“Art Got into Me”: The Work of Engels the Artist
October 9 – December 22, 2019

This monographic exhibition features more than fifty works created by Engels the Artist over the past ten years. Born in Haiti, the artist has been living in Brooklyn for more than three decades. For Engels, the canvas is a limited space that requires subversion, inversion, expansion, or containment. He engages in a sort of metonymic game, whereby the container becomes the contained, and the support becomes the object itself. For example, the fabric of the canvas, the wood of the stretcher, and the metal staples are all part of his iconography. Abstract and poetic, his sculptural paintings are both aesthetically appealing and profoundly meaningful. According to the artist, “The strict economy of line and texture, the use of everyday objects, and makeshift elegance recall my grandmother’s home in Port-au-Prince, which against all odds had splendor.”

The exhibition will include an artist residency during which Engels will create new works inside the museum. A fully illustrated monograph, the first in the artist’s career, will accompany the exhibition.

“Art Got into Me”: The Work of Engels the Artist is organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, in collaboration with the Willowell Foundation, and is curated by Patrice Giasson, the Alex Gordon Curator of Art of the Americas, with the assistance of Cynthia Newman, curatorial intern.

Major support for “Art Got into Me”: The Work of Engels the Artist is funded by the Alex Gordon Foundation. Additional support has been provided by ArtsWestchester, with support from the Westchester County Government; and the Triennial Adeline Herder Fund for Collage.

Engels the Artist, “When God Meets God,” 2011. Oil on Canvas and Poster Board with Paper, Frame, Wood, Staples, Wire, Nail, Screws,and Bamboo, 49 3/4 x 24 3/4 inches.