Among the most important metal artists of his generation, Gabriel Bien-Aimé is part of a creative culture deeply rooted in Vodou. A mix of African and Christian traditions among others, Vodou is infused in his every piece. The powerful loa, vodou spirits in both human and non-human forms, are integral to Bien-Aimé’s work. The loa are believed to inhabit springs, rivers, and trees; indeed to watch over the natural world and surround the living they left behind. For believers, their benevolent powers are unparalleled. It seems an extraordinary gift from the artist, given the context. From a country punished by incessant natural, economic, political disasters, the artist divines beauty that takes us to another world. To bring us there, he cuts and flattens an old oil drum, then manipulates his hammer and chisel to create folds and pop-outs. In the gallery, you’ll find Bien-Aimé’s three-dimensional work Adam and Eve with his trademark bracketing. The First Couple of human life looms large; we’ve dropped it from ceiling with fishing wire, and it casts an immersive shadow. Inventive and refined, this sculpted metal work is among his best to date. Washington Post Art Critic Mark Jenkins pointed to this piece as a standout: “Gabriel Bien-Aimé’s ‘Adam and Eve,’ which embodies Haitian Vodou spirits, draws on folk beliefs yet is indisputably fine art.” Exhibited and prized worldwide, Bien-Aime’s sculptures hang in leading European and American museums, among them the Centre Pompidou, the Musée du Quai Branly, the Musée National d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Waterloo Museum, the Figge Art Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Le Centre d’Art and the Musée d’Art Haïtien du Collège Saint-Pierre.