Marielle Plaisir is one of three artists being featured by The Baker Museum of Art in its 12th Annual Florida Contemporary exhibition. The Miami-based French Caribbean artist is known for “backlits,” which are light boxes that contain as many as 40 layers of multi-dimensional design and pattern. Executive Director Courtney McNeil said their theme is especially timely.
“Marielle is interested in ideas around the legacies of colonialism in this country, of power and power imbalances, and questioning and exploring the effects of these forces on society today,” McNeil said. “So she tackles really weighty themes in her work, but she is a relentless optimist in the end, and has such beautiful faith in humanity and in the ability of love and compassion to transcend that I find her work incredibly uplifting.”
Plaisir created a new branch of work for “Florida Contemporary” – painted poles representing flags. There’s one for every nation on the planet. They lean against the walls of the gallery, inviting contemplation.
“I think of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine,’” McNeil said. “Imagine if there were no countries, nothing to bleed or die for. I think she’s trying to think about where our allegiances lie and where we put our care and our priority.”
Plaisir will join fellow exhibitors Amer Kobaslija and Cynthia Mason for a panel discussion on April 18.
"Florida Contemporary" is on view through June 29, 2025.
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Marielle Plaisir titles her exhibition “Rhapsody for a Beloved World.” She includes in it examples from several distinct bodies of work inspired by her exploration of her French Caribbean heritage and her personal reckoning with the enduring legacies of colonialism.
To create her backlits, Plaisir combines paint and collage on plexiglass. They are lighted from behind by means of an embedded light source, creating a cinematic glow.
Plaisir’s installation also includes works from her “Strange Fruits” series. The title for the series references Billie Holiday’s Jim Crow-era song that protested the lynchings of Black Americans.
Works from her “In Blue Blood, Black Blood” series democratize the trappings of European portraiture, which were originally reserved for the wealthy and powerful.
As McNeil observed, Plaisir is staunchly optimistic about the future. “I place love and gentleness at the heart of my practice,” Plaisir said. “It’s a bit old-fashioned to talk about love, but it’s what holds humanity together. It’s this fragility. Without love, we do not build anything together; we don’t recognize the other as our equal. Love is the ultimate desire, the ultimate aspiration of humanity.”
Marielle Plaisir (b. 1978) is a French Caribbean artist whose multimedia work includes sculpture, drawing, painting, photography and installation. Plaisir’s work critically examines power structures and fractured identity while also celebrating humanity’s interconnectedness and conveying hope for a better future.
She has held artist residencies at Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, Florida, 2019-2021; The Hambidge Center, Rabun County, Georgia, 2002; and Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, Colorado, 2022. She was awarded the gold medal in two international biennials: at the 2004 International Biennial of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and at the 2008 International Biennial of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Plaisir’s work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami; the Gregg Museum of Art, Raleigh; the Museum of Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Martinique; among others.
Plaisir grew up in Le Harve, France and Guadeloupe. She studied at the University of Bordeaux III, France, and the Honors Advanced School of Fine Art and Decorative Arts of Bordeaux.
Read WGCU.org for more on “Florida Contemporary.”
The Baker Museum is located at 5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard in Naples.
The Baker Museum is the foremost fine art museum in Southwest Florida. Emphasizing modern and contemporary art, the museum hosts several traveling exhibitions annually to complement installations of works from its permanent collections. Dedicated to stewardship and scholarship, The Baker Museum provides world-class exhibitions and educational opportunities for Southwest Florida’s diverse community.
Courtney A. McNeil is an award-winning curator, art historian and museum leader with more than two decades of museum and gallery experience. The 2024-25 season is her fifth season with Artis Naples as museum director and chief curator, where she provides dynamic leadership, artistic vision and strategic direction for The Baker Museum, crafting a vibrant curatorial program that highlights the unique multidisciplinary nature of the organization.
Prior to joining The Baker Museum, McNeil served 15 years in the curatorial department of Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia, ultimately holding the title of chief curator and deputy director for curatorial affairs. At Telfair, she was responsible for overseeing all of the museum’s programmatic activities, including collections, exhibitions and education, at the organization’s three distinct sites.
Earlier in her career, McNeil held positions at Childs Gallery in Boston, where she specialized in American painting and works on paper, and in the publications department of the National Gallery, London.
McNeil has a proven record of championing projects that complicate traditional art historical narratives in order to provide audiences with opportunities for authentic engagement and conversation around the most vital issues of our time. She specializes in aligning the activities of the exhibitions, collections and education teams and implementing data-driven approaches in order to fulfill strategic goals.
She has curated and co-curated a broad range of exhibitions. Her exhibitions have been recognized regionally and nationally with awards and grants from organizations including the Southeastern Museums Conference, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Florida Association of Museums and the Terra Foundation for American Art. A Boston native, Courtney holds a B.A. in English with a minor in art history from Georgetown University and an M.A. in the history of art from The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, where she authored her dissertation on John Singleton Copley’s monumental painting “The Siege of Gibraltar.” She also earned an executive certificate in nonprofit leadership and management from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.