Steeve Vérin was a discreet painter he left this world discreetly.
Discreetly, because we were astonished to find no mention in the local press of his sudden death, even though some media had devoted articles to him. At Kariculture, we never received any invitations or press releases for his solo exhibitions (perhaps an oversight), but we watched his work from afar. Kariculture did not have time to write his portrait, as we have already done for other artists, but we had the opportunity to mention his name at a group exhibition…
The funeral of painter Steeve Vérin, nicknamed “Titi”, took place on Friday December 15 at 11:00 am in the funeral parlour of the Pompes funèbres antillaises in Blanchet, Morne-à-l’Eau (Guadeloupe). All those who could were present to say goodbye to this discreet, shy, simple and above all talented young man, a very promising Caribbean artist who left this world prematurely.
A sudden death
Indeed, on Saturday December 2, the art world – especially the world of visual arts – was shocked by the death of Steeve Vérin at the age of 32. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre and living in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, the young man died in Martinique, where he was preparing a 5th year of studies (Master) at the Campus Caribéen des Arts after graduating from the École nationale supérieure d’art décoratif (ENSA) in Limoges (France) in 2014.
On Thursday, December 7, a tribute was paid to him on the sister island by students, teachers, artist friends, and those who could not attend were invited to send their testimonials via WhatsApp or email.
Young Steeve Vérin had so much to share with the Guadeloupean, Caribbean and other audiences through his art, but unfortunately he left too soon, before he could develop it further.
An artistic career in the making
From March to April 2020, the Palais de la culture Félix Proto in Les Abymes was to host his “Tolérance” exhibition but the Covid pandemic stopped this presentation.
In October 2020, four of these works presented at the Kréol West Indies museum-gallery in Saint-François were sold to a collector from Marseille… These deformed faces were in color, but in 2019 the artist had produced a series in black and white…
In September 2021, Steeve Vérin, who took his inspiration from the English painter Francis Bacon (1909-1992), had made a remarkable entry into the Guadeloupean artistic landscape with his first major solo exhibition entitled “Je Suis” at the Hotel Arawak Beach Resort (Le Gosier); suffering, pain, death and life were among the themes suggested by this series of thirteen colorful, blurred and deformed portraits…
In April-May 2023, the painter had chosen the Emergenc’Art gallery in Petit-Bourg to show his second major solo exhibition, entitled “Résilience”, in which he explored the past, his past, and exorcised his pain, having rediscovered the joy of living in his native land after leaving it to study in France, an experience that was not without difficulty…
A basketball enthusiast
Steeve Vérin has also participated in some collective exhibitions: Numeris Clausus, Artistes guadeloupéens au temps du confinement, 2021, at the Fondation Clément in Le François, Martinique; Black Market (exhibition: “Méningite”), June-July 2022, Arawak Beach Resort, Le Gosier Guadeloupe; Pool Art Fair, June 2023, Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, for which he was the winner of the city of Les Abymes scholarship; Brooklyn Caribbean Contemporary Art Festival, September 2023, New York, USA etc. ..
From October to December 2021, Steeve Vérin participated in an artistic residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. In July 2022, the artist was one of 18 winners selected to take part in the first artist residency organized by the youth hostel, Green Hostel, located in Pointe-à-Pitre.
Steeve Vérin was not only an art enthusiast, he was also a basketball enthusiast, a sport he practiced from an early age at the MJCA basketball school before becoming an assistant at the same school for two years…
Kariculture presents its sincere condolences to his family.
