Victor Anicet (born in 1938 in Marigot, a commune in the north of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...

) is a French

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts a ...

and

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

Biography

Training and early career

Victor Anicet trained as a ceramist initially at the Ecole des Arts Appliqués in Fort-de-France (academy of applied arts), continuing his training at Ecoles des Métiers des Arts de Paris (school of applied arts) in the ceramics department; at graduation in 1961, he was recognised as first in his class. After obtaining certification for a preparatory class for physics and chemistry applied to ceramics at the Arts et Métiers in Paris, he undertook numerous training courses in Europe: first in France, with potters such as Yves Mohy and Jean and Jacqueline Lerat at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

de Bourges, then in England with John Reeve and

Bernard Leach Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery". Biography Early years (Japan) Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...

, at Michael Cardew's St Ives pottery and finally with Marion Mangold in

Ottweiler Ottweiler () is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken. Culture The town is notable f ...

, in Germany.

Background and work in Martinique

His paintings evoke

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

as people of courage and rebellion. He creates objects that respond to

and the history of the

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of the island, which he explored at a young age with Rev. Pere Pinchon, co-founder of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology and an initiator of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

research in Martinique. Assisting at a dig in the Adoration district in

Le Marigot Le Marigot (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Mawigo) is a village and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. Population See also *Communes of Martinique The following is a list of the 34 communes of the Martinique overseas ...

, Anicet learned about the ceramic culture of the

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater ...

by observing the fragments of pottery he was cleaning. In 1984, he was a co-creator of the group "Fwomajé", the Creole for the

kapok tree Kapok tree can refer to several plants Malvales with one exception with seeds that grow long hairs: *''Bombax ceiba'', an Asian tree with red flowers *'' Calotropis procera'' (Asterid), a shrub with white and purple flowers, native to Asia and ...

, which carries out research on Caribbean aesthetics. He has exhibited in France, the Caribbean, Germany and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In a collaboration with the Atelier Simon Marq, a studio in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded ...

, he created stained glass windows for the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption, Saint-Pierre; the work was dedicated on 8 December 2006. He studied at the Petit Manoir College, located in Lamentin, Martinique, now named Lycée Polyvalent Victor Anicet.

Retrospective exhibitions

An exhibition of works selected from across Anicet's career was included in the 34th

São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial ( Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...

and another, Sève, was held in tribute to his career in 2021 at Tropiques Atrium, an arts venue in

Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Hi ...

Filmography

* 2009 Victor Anicet, céramiste et artiste martiniquais * 2015 La Vision du Vaincu * 2015 Dans les jardins HSE installation de l'oeuvre de V. Anicet, mai 2015 * 2016 ANICET victor Animation murale au collège CASSIEN Sainte-Claire Martinique * 2016 ANICET MUR DU MARIN * 2017 L'oeil du lezard : Victor Anicet * 2019 Le Palais du savoir - Yohann Guglielmetti * 2020 Voeux pour 2020 de Franck Robine, Préfet de la Martinique * 2021 SETANOU - 5 February 2021 - Victor Anicet

References

External links

* The official website o
Victor Anicet
* An interview with Victor Anicet
Manioc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anicet, Victor Martiniquais people 1938 births French ceramists 20th-century ceramists 21st-century ceramists Living people Knights of the Legion of Honour People from Le Marigot