Millennium Bank Hosts Art Exhibition for International Artist
Performance artist, drummer, and painter Eder Romeus of Jacmel, Haiti, will show ten new paintings at Millennium Bank, 2077 Miner Street in Des Plaines during the months of November and December. The work, acrylic on canvas, is an expression of the artist's emotions - joy, love, and sadness, living with his handicap. “In Haiti, a poor, handicapped man experiences extreme discrimination, almost like a gate that keeps you in your place, stagnant, unable to progress,” Eder said. “I am free in my paintings to express what it's like to be someone in dark, looking for light.”
Eder was born January 11, 1982 at Arcahaie, a little village in western Haiti. His early schooling was in Arcahaie. After his mother died, he moved to Jacmel and graduated from Lycée Pinchinat Public Secondary School. He has been drawing since he was a child. “After graduating from high school, I attended FOSAJ (Fanal Otantik Sant D'A Jakmèl), a non- profit art center, whose mission is to empower people through art and culture. I attended seminars organized by Haitian and international artists such as Vady Confident, Didier Civil, Flo McGarrell, Assert Sainval, Kate Tarratt Cross, and Benoit Tcherett,” Eder said. “I don't own materials, but through art I am a rich man.”
Eder works with the homeless, orphans, and other handicapped people. His goal is expose them his love of painting and theater to enrich their lives. He has worked with children at his alma mater, Lycée Pinchinat, in an art center in Jacmel, and at a school in Port au Prince.
Eder's creativity is not limited to the two-dimensional world. “Sometime my ideas have to be expressed through performance,” he said, because what I understand about life and love cannot always be explained in a painting.”
The curating of the show is a collaborative effort by Sue Frame, Co-Director of Jakmel Ekspresyon, an all-inclusive art center in Haiti where Frame met the artist; Kristen and Alex Polotsky, friends of the artist; Steve Raden, Doris Frame, and Corinne Polson, who helped arrange transportation of the paintings; and Samantha Haring, an alumnae of the School of the Art Institute, and organizer of Artists Without Borders, a student run group at SAIC. “Last year AWB worked with Jakmel Ekspresyon on several projects, including fundraising and collecting equipment for their new computer lab. This show for Eder is an opportunity for Haitian and American artists to collaborate and continue a cross-cultural dialogue,” Haring said.
The show runs from October 31 through December 17. Viewing hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00am to 5:00pm; Fridays; 9:00am to 6:00pm; and Saturdays, 9:00am to 1:00pm. The public is invited to a reception on Friday, December 2 at 6:00pm. For more information, call Samantha Haring, 847-533-5959.