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In July of 2021, marking his fiftieth year as a sculptor, Gabriel Bien-Aimé traveled to the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the first time. The event fell one week after the assassination of Haiti’s president Jovenel Moïse (1968–2021). In the state of siege that followed, all of Haiti’s airports were closed. The Port-au-Prince airport reopened a day before Bien-Aimé was due in Santa Fe. Bien-Aimé arrived with his sculptures packed in two large suitcases, leaving just enough time to hang his artwork and successfully conclude a sold-out show. Though Bien-Aimé planned to return to Haiti, the country’s instability led him to remain in the United States for over a year. During this time, he worked in the service industry to support himself and was unable to create sculptures for the 2022 art market. In the summer of 2022, Indigo Arts Gallery in conjunction with Galerie Bonheur promoted sales of Bien-Aimé’s existing work to help raise funds to enable him to return to Haiti, establish a new workshop, and purchase materials to create new sculptures. The infiltration of gangs in Croix-des-Bouquets drove Bien-Aimé to move to Hinche in central Haiti in the fall of 2022. Bien-Aimé returned to Santa Fe in July of 2023 to participate in the International Folk Art Market. See “The Enduring Spirit of Haitian Metal Sculpture” on display, pre-security, in the International Terminal. https://bit.ly/Haitian-Metal 📸: Serge Jolimeau and Gabriel Bien-Aimé at the International Folk Art Market July 2023 Santa Fe, New Mexico Photograph courtesy of Anthony Hart Fisher R2023.1005.002 Bearded angel (possibly Moses) and bird c. 1989 Gabriel Bien-Aimé (b. 1951) Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti recycled steel oil drum Courtesy of Indigo Arts Gallery L2023.1003.005 This image was posted on July 19, 2024.