BIOGRAPHY
“I use art to give form to the formless in the hopes of pointing humanity to a place of love, and healing”.
Conceptual Artist: Paper sculptor, photography, paper textiles, installation, and painting
Fabiola Jean-Louis was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti, on September 10th, 1978, and moved to Brooklyn, NY, at a young age, where she began to immerse herself in a new and diverse cultural landscape. While attending the High School of Fashion Industries, her passion for the arts flourished, leading her to explore various creative outlets. It wasn't until much later, in November 2013, that Fabiola discovered her talent for photography during a significant journey of artistic rediscovery. Initially, she began taking self-portraits as a matter of convenience, driven by her shyness and her keen understanding of how to effectively convey the intricate stories she wanted to tell using her own body as a canvas. As time progressed, her work grew to encompass not only other subjects and models but also elaborate costumes and intricate sculptures made entirely out of paper. Today, her artistic practice is focused on continuous experimentation through the innovative use of different techniques, diverse disciplines, and even a variety of art styles, allowing her to push the boundaries of her creativity.
While her images have often been described as "magical, moody, and mysterious," Fabiola's artistic work may be most accurately encapsulated as Afro Surrealism. In her creations, she skillfully combines the bizarre yet undeniably beautiful dualities that characterize Haitian culture. She artfully distorts reality in order to reveal the profound power associated with spirit, and she is expansive in her exploration of the complexities of Blackness. Furthermore, her work serves as a thoughtful critique of the societal structures that are imposed upon Black lives, encouraging viewers to reflect on these important issues.
Her profound love of Afro-futurism, science and science fiction, pre and post-industrial eras, rich history, and captivating folklore serves as central themes that resonate deeply in her artistic work. Her impressive series, Rewriting History, is a remarkable body of work that consists of intricately crafted period paper gowns, painterly photographs, and unique Polaroids. This series opened as a solo exhibition at prominent Smithsonian affiliates, including the DuSable Museum of African American History, Alan Avery Art Company, and Andrew Freedman Home, where it received critical acclaim from both audiences and art critics alike. This recognition paved the way for her acceptance into the highly coveted residency at the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in New York City, as well as participation in exhibitions at LUX Museum in San Diego, in September 2019. Fabiola was also invited to join and actively participated in a BRIC Media group exhibition titled Bordering the Imaginary, which showcased a diverse array of art from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and their diasporas. In 2021, The Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned her to create an exquisite paper sculpture for a major two-year exhibition called “Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room.” This prestigious debut took place on November 5th, 2021, marking a significant milestone as she became the first Haitian, female artist to exhibit at this esteemed institution. That same year, the Yale Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library made an important acquisition of Jean-Louis’s entire Rewriting History print collection, along with three of her intricately crafted paper sculptures.
Fabiola now sets her sights on her long awaited, and highly anticipated, massive body of work, titled Waters of the Abyss: An Intersection of Spirit and Freedom, which is set to make its debut at the prestigious Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in February 2025. Over the years, her captivating works have been prominently featured in renowned publications such as the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Vogue, Elle Decor, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Modern Luxury, Artnet News, Art Critical, Hyperallergic, Atlanta Art Constitution, Chicago Sun Times, The Fashion Journal, The Haitian Times, and many more. Additionally, her remarkable paper dress sculpture, “Justice of Ezili,” is currently on view at the world-famous Metropolitan Museum until late 2024, drawing considerable attention and acclaim.
ARTIST CV
RESIDENCIES
2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, MA
2019 LUX Art Institute, CA
2018-2021 Andrew Freedman Home, NY
2017 Museum of Arts and Design, NY
b. 1978 Port au Prince, Haiti
Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY
EDUCATION
2011 - 2015 Nova Southeastern University, Florida
1993 - 1997 Fashion Industries High School
1998 -1998 City-As High School
PROFILE 2014 – current, Conceptual artist, Photographer, Sculptor, Guest Teacher, Lecturer
LECTURES, GUEST TEACHING, & PANEL
2022 Dezeen, Panel
2022 The George Washington University Museum, guest lecturer
2021 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room”, panel
2021 Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, “About Time: International Symposium”, Paris, guest lecturer
2021 Munson-Williams Museum, guest lecturer
2019 Andrew Freedman Home, New York
2018 BRIC, panel
2018 MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora, Shomberg panel
2017 Black Speculative Arts Movement, New York, panel
2017 Fashioning the Black Body In Bondage & Freedom, New York, panel
2016 Spelman Museum – African Forecast Atlanta, panel
2015 City-As High School New York, guest teacher
2015 - 2016 Harlem School of the Arts New York, teaching artist
2016 New York University New York, guest lecturer
2016 Fashion Industries High School New York, guest lecturer
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Waters of The Abyss: An Intersection of Spirit and Freedom, University of Central Arkansas
2022 La Maison Francaise, New York University
2019 Rewriting History: A Black Ancestral Narrative, Andrew Freedman Home, NY
2019 Rewriting History, LUX Art Institute, CA
2017 Rewriting History: Paper Gowns & Photographs, IL
2017 Rewriting History, Alan Avery Art Company, GA
2016 Rewriting History, Harlem School of the Arts, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Our Colonial Inheritance, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam
2021 Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room, The Metropolitan Museum, NY
2019 Afro Syncretic, The Latinex Project NYU, NY
2019 The Rest of History - Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), VA
2019 Dust Specks on the Sea - Hunter College, NY
2018 The Rest of History, Virginia MOCA, group exhibition
2018 Bordering the Imaginary: Art from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and their Diasporas - BRIC gallery, NY
2017 High John the Conqueror Ain't Got Nothing On Me: American Hoodoo & Southern Black-American Centric Spiritual Ways, Rush Arts Gallery, PA - Rush Philanthropic
2017 Here + Now Abandoned Margins: Policing the Black Female Body, NY
2016 The 9th Coven: Witches Ball, Andrew Freedman Home, NY
2016 Africa Forecast: Fashioning Contemporary Life, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, GA
2016 The 2016 Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles Southeastern Designer Show House, GA
2016 Boundless Group Exhibition, Brooklyn Historical Society, NY
2016 Metamorphosis Group Exhibition, Arts East NY Gallery, NY
2016 Rewriting History: paper dresses & photographs, Solo Exhibition, Harlem School of the Arts, NY
2015 Women as Witness Group Exhibition, TI Art Studios, NY
2014 Sixth Annual Juried Student Group Exhibition, Nova Southeastern University, FL
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2022 Brent Staples, In Search of the Black Utopia, The New York Times
2022 Salamishah Tillet, Afrofuturist Room at the Met Redresses a Racial Trauma, The New York Times
2018 Tanner West, See the Gorgeous Photos and Costumes of Fabiola Jean-Louis, Reimagining European History Through the Lens of Black Freedom, Artnet News
2018 Eliza Davidson, Fabiola Jean-Louis beautifully explores ugly truths via DuSable museum exhibit, Chicago Sun Times
2018 Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, Critics Pick Bordering the Imaginary: Art From the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Their Diasporas, ArtForum
2017 Felicia Feaster, Art Review: Fabiola Jean-Louis Offers Pretty Pictures of Ugly Truth, The Atlanta Journal Constitution
2018 Jessica Stewart, Powerful Photos of Black Women In White Women Nobility, My Modern Met
2018 Kim Jenkins, The Fashion Studies Journal & Bryan Mason
2016 Jeanine Hayes & Bryan Mason, Fabiola Jean-Louis & Clinton Hill, Moyi Magazine
2016 Omo Misha, Fabiola Jean-Louis Rewrites History With a Magical Lens, Huffington Post
2016 Omo Misha, Fabiola Rewrites History with a Magical Lens, Huffington Post
2016 Pinkins, Tonya, The Black Gaze: Raseskillene I Amerikansk Teater, Norske
Shakespeare og Teater Tidsskrift Magazine
2016 Audrey’s Society Whirl, Two Sensational Shows: Ben Vereen and
Fabiola Jean-Louis, NY Beacon Newspaper
2016 BWW News Desk, Fabiola Jean-Louis Exhibition on View Through
March 16th 2016 at Harlem School of the Arts, Broadway World
2016 Luca, Demetria, Emerging Artist Fabiola Jean-Louis Rewrites History at the
Harlem School of the Arts, See Some World
2016 Super Selected Blog, Art. Fabiola Jean-Louis Rewrites History, Super Selected
2014 Phillips, Rasheedah, Bringing Unseen Worlds to Light: Interview with Fine
Artist Fabiola Jean-Louis, Atlantic Black Star Blerds
2014 Jordan, Tip, Interview: Photographer, Fabiola Jean-Louis—Magic & the Machine, AfroPunk
2014 ArtInsomniac, Lucid Dreams: Fabiola Jean-Louis, ArtInsomniac photo essay