Frieze London
Myrlande Constant
Stand A10
October 14–18, 2026
For its debut stand at Frieze London, Fort Gansevoort is pleased to announce a solo presentation of new large-scale beaded textile works by visionary Haitian artist Myrlande Constant. Rooted in Vodou spirituality and its African lineage, Constant’s critically acclaimed, optically dazzling compositions confront histories of colonization, liberation, and political unrest while asserting enduring Haitian pride and resilience.
Since the 1990s, Constant has transformed the traditionally male-dominated practice of drapo (Vodou flags) through her mastery of sequin embroidery and introduction of the tambour stitch beading technique—a skill first developed as a teenager while working alongside her mother in a wedding dress factory in Port-au-Prince. Expanding the scale, complexity, and painterly ambition of the form, she has elevated drapo to the realm of contemporary art while highlighting the overlooked labor and virtuosic artistry of Haitian women. Though grounded in spirituality, her works are created for museums and galleries, where they stand as acts of cultural affirmation, resistance, and perseverance amid Haiti’s ongoing humanitarian and political crises.
This presentation comes at a pivotal moment of international recognition for Constant’s work, following her inclusion in the 36th São Paulo Biennale, (Brazil, 2025-26), the Prospect.6 Triennial (New Orleans, USA, 2024-25), the 59th Venice Biennale (Italy, 2022) and major museum presentations across Europe including exhibitions at the Barbican Centre, London, UK; Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, Paris and Centre Pompidou-Metz, France; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and the Draiflessen Collection, Mettingen, Germany. This momentum is further underscored by Tate Modern’s acquisition of a significant Constant work for its permanent collection, which is currently in progress.
Highlights
Amwan Agwe… (2026) is among Constant’s most ambitious monumental drapo, spanning more than ten feet in width and nine feet in height. A sprawling landscape of rolling green hills stretches into the distance beneath dramatic clouds, while countless Vodou spirits and practitioners intermingle across the terrain. This scene may be interpreted as a celebration of Fèt Gede, Haiti’s annual festival honoring the spirits of the dead, while its elaborate decorative border echoes the iconic palette of the Gede spirit family—purple, black, and white—whose presence dominates the composition.
Lasirène Diamant (2025) depicts two incarnations of Lasirène, the feminine Vodou spirit of the sea, gathered within a dynamic aquatic realm. On the left side of this large-scale work, Lasirène Diamant wears a diamond necklace representing the prosperity she selectively bestows upon her devotees. On the right, another manifestation of Lasirène rises behind a raft bearing offerings of fruit, cake, and sweets. Between these two mermaids, dolphins, a seahorse, and an octopus gather amid the undulating waves, framed by a decorative motif of fish and starfish. Constant presents this glorious assembly of sea creaures and spirits as embodiments of natural and spiritual abundance.
About the artist
Myrlande Constant was born 1968 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She is known for her striking beaded and sequin-embellished textile artworks (known as drapo Vodou). Her work was featured in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2025-26); Prospect.6, New Orleans, LA, USA (2024-25); and La Biennale di Venezia, 59th International Art Exhibition, Venice, Italy, (2022). In 2023, Fort Gansevoort presented “Drapo,” the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York followed by “The Spiritual World of Haiti,” in 2025. The solo exhibition “Myrlande Constant: The Work of Radiance” was presented at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles in 2023. Constant’s work has been featured in important group exhibitions at numerous museums and institutions across the globe including the Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK; Nottingham Contemporary Gallery, Nottingham, UK; Grand Palais, Paris, France; Centre Pompidou-Metz, France; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Taichung Art Museum, Taichung City, Taiwan; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, USA; and Brown University, Providence, RI, USA among others. Constant’s work is included in numerous museum collections including Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY, USA; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA; de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Fowler Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, USA; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, USA; Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris, France; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA, USA; Pérez Art Museum, Miami, FL, USA; Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
For press inquiries please contact:
Andrea Schwan, Andrea Schwan Inc., andrea@andreaschwan.com, +1 917 371 5023
Caption and courtesy information:
Myrlande Constant
Amwan Agwe…, 2026
Beads and sequins on fabric
109 x 129 in
© Myrlande Constant. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York.
Myrlande Constant
Lasirène Diamant, 2025
Beads and sequins on fabric
60 x 68.5 in
© Myrlande Constant. Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York.