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

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

) is a French

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

and

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

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

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 (n� ...

, 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 Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Fr ...

, in Germany.

Background and work in Martinique

His paintings evoke

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

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

and the history of the

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

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 study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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

Le Marigot Le Marigot (; ) is a village and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. Population See also *Communes of Martinique A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other deriva ...

, 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. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...

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 fibre is a cotton-like plant fibre obtained from the seed pods of a number of trees in the Malvaceae family, which is used for stuffing mattresses and pillows, for padding and cushioning, and as insulation. Kapok may also refer to: Plant ...

, 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. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. 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 Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, he created

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

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 (, , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. History Before it was ceded to France by Spain in 1635, the area of Fort-de-Fra ...

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 20th-century French ceramists 21st-century ceramists Living people Knights of the Legion of Honour People from Le Marigot People from the French West Indies