Vintage Signed GABRIEL BIEN-AIMÉ Metal Folk Art

Vintage signed metal folk art, by GABRIEL BIEN-AIMÉ. Depicts a figure surrounded by several birds. Bottom of piece is signed G BIEN-AIMÉ. Several wooden cylinders are affixed to the back of the art. Wear is consistent with age. Measures approx 34.5 inches h, and 35 inches w. Gabriel Bien-Aimé was born in 1951 in the village of Croix des Bouquets, now known as the “cradle of 20th century Haitian metal sculpture”. Croix des Bouquets nurtured such great Haitian sculptors as the late Georges Liautaud and Murat Brierre, the brothers Louisjuste, and Serge Jolimeau. Bien-Aimé worked as an auto mechanic for several years before apprenticing to sculptor Janvier Louis-Juste. Working on his own, he has become one of Haiti’s two leading sculptors. Bien-Aimé’s work has been exhibited internationally, notably in the groundbreaking 1989 show at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Magiciens de la Terre. His works are in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Musée du Quai