The Boy Milo Matthieu | Buy Art Online

"I painted, The Boy, during my time in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’ivoire, a small fisherman village located an hour outside Abidjan. This trip proved to be very enriching, not only for exposure to the country but the serenity that I gained while being there. The most impactful take away from the experience was gaining a better understanding of the community by talking with the locals, merchants and observing the fisherman on the beach. There was a sense of stillness on this tiny section of the coast. Gigantic crashing waves and distant conversations composed these mantra-like symphonies. Though I found peace and solitude, it was hard to ignore the surrounding community and the very apparent economic hardship of the city. The locals were very welcoming and kind to me. Here I was, this American with a rudimentary level of French, foreign upbringing and yet still there is a connection through this ancestral bond. I questioned this familiarity and the connection to the country. Possibly it was because of my Haitian background or possibly it was just my unreserved willingness to connect. Regardless, the trip proved to be an unforgettable one"

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About the artist:

Milo Matthieu’s practice examines the complexity of identity and the many dimensions of self, tracing how personal and collective histories are shaped by stories passed down through generations. His work engages the fragile nature of these narratives, often undocumented and sustained through memory, ritual, and everyday practices, and reflects on how their loss can lead to fragmentation when individuals become distanced from their cultural knowledge. Rooted in a desire to preserve and protect what is at risk of erasure, Matthieu’s paintings serve as acts of remembrance, holding space for ancestral presence within contemporary experience. Through an intuitive, stream-of-consciousness process, he constructs layered compositions that channel both lived and inherited memory, allowing figures and forms to emerge as vessels of history and spirit. Through his work, Matthieu reconnects with and honors the African and Caribbean traditions that have shaped him, transforming painting into a site where identity is not only examined, but reclaimed and sustained across time.

Milo Matthieu is a first-generation Haitian painter born in Los Angeles, CA in 1990. Matthieu’s work draws on the artistic traditions of his heritage to develop a vivid visual language of abstract scenery. Influenced by representational depictions of landscapes, market scenes, historical references, and sculptural objects that filled his childhood home, Matthieu constructs a deepened and spiritual connection to Haitian and African diaspora. He has presented solo exhibitions including A Note to Self (M+B Gallery, Los Angeles), Flowers Beyond the Sunset (Sorry We’re Closed, Brussels), and Silenced, Yet Celebrated (Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York) and participated in group exhibitions such as Caldonia (Salon 94, New York), Show Me the Signs (Blum and Poe, Los Angeles), The City (V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark), and No Vacancy (Historic Hampton House, Miami, Florida). His work is in collections of institutions such as the Institute of Contemporary Art (Miami, Florida) The Bunker Artspace (West Palm Beach, Florida) and the Columbus Museum of Art at The Pizzuti (Columbus, Ohio); he lives and works in New York, NY.