Queen of Heart
These two painted portraits were in the UN art collection since 1996 and were recently identified with the artist, Richard Barbot (b1961). The painting¡¯s wistful appearance puts you in a dream scape of reflection and imagination. His masterful images transport you to a place to play with color and shape and then see Haiti¡¯s presence unfold.
The painting, Queen of Heart, has at the top, a v¨¨v¨¨ of ?zili, or spirit of love in Haitian Vodou, and at the bottom, a queen of hearts from a deck of playing cards. The central character of these two symbols has the heart in common and show facets of love. Additionally, he mentioned, The painting¡¯s model is my former wife, Carline, who unfortunately was one of the many victims on the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. I feel she is immortalized in this painting.
The artist, Richard Bardot, was born in Haiti, attended Universite du Quebec a Montreal for his Bachelor of Fine Arts, teaches at ?cole Nationale des Arts, and currently lives in Montreal, Canada.
The portraits hang in the Conference Building, second-floor, General Assembly President¡¯s office reception area, of the United Nations headquarters in New York. Clarity is need for Haiti presentations of the artworks to United Nations.