International Inn on the Bay, 2301 Normandy Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33141
Dates of Exhibition: November 14, 2024 through December 12, 2024
Born in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, Asser Saint-Val is a renowned multidisciplinary artist hailing from South Florida. His creative repertoire spans painting, sculpture, installation art, graphic design, and music, earning him accolades both locally and internationally. Saint-Val’s solo and group exhibitions have graced venues across South Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Fort Myers, and West Palm Beach. His global footprint extends to various Caribbean locales including Haiti, the Bahamas, Grenada, Aruba, Havana, Santiago de Cuba,Bermuda, and Puerto Rico.
Notable among his achievements is a commission by the City of Miami Beach and Aspen Ideas: Climate Change, resulting in the creation of KLASS-C-FI, 2024, an immersive art installation and performance blending diverse artistic disciplines. His site-specific work, “The Great Mother, 2022,”garnered acclaim and was selected to adorn the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County during Miami Art Basel 2022. In 2017, his installation represented Paris Perfume’s new cologne, Pour Un Homme CARON Sport during Miami Art Week.
Saint-Val’s artistic journey has been punctuated by recognition, including three South Florida Consortium Awards in 2006, 2011, and 2022. He’s also been honored with grants such as Miami Individual Artists Grants Program, the Artist Access Grant and the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Incubator grant in 2017, 2022, and 2023. Holding BFAs in painting and graphic design from the New World School of the Arts and the University of Florida, Saint-Val’s works grace esteemed collections such as the Rubell collection, Mike Paolo collection, Lisa & Mosquera Collection, Miami Dade Public Library Collection, and Art in Public Places (APP).
Currently, Saint-Val is actively involved in two public art projects for Art in Public Places (APP) Miami- Dade County, while serving as the artist in residence at the DVCAI Studios in Little Haiti. Saint-Val’s work explores his own identity, spirituality, and the subconscious, driven by research on Neuromelanin. Through his exploration, he seeks to not only understand but to influence his own mind while contemplating the intertwined nature of reality, imagination, and human connectivity.
Artist Asser Saint-Val’s “Aquatic Incursion-MHEDRAYNGT” is a series of amorphous air sculptural installations that integrate into the architecture of South Beach. These organic, sea life-inspired structures create a surreal, otherworldly aesthetic that contrasts with the iconic art deco buildings of the city. The sculptures appear to invade the familiar built environment, generating a captivating interplay between manmade and the sea. The organic forms of the sculptures are inspired by the ongoing discourse around sea level rise and the encroachment of sea life into urban spaces. The underwater quality of these sculptural installations are designed to evoke a sense of wonder prompting viewers to reflect on the delicate balance between human activities as the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Photo credit: Monica McGivern