Laurena Finéus
(Born in Ottawa, Canada - Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)
Laurena Finéus is an Haitian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist whose practice reflects on the challenging journeys migrants undertake through spaces of 'Non-being,' starting with the enduring Haitian migration crisis since the 1980s. Drawing parallels between Maroons and contemporary migrants, she emphasizes shared desires for freedom and visions of brighter futures. In the artist’s practice, Maroons embody a black geography that redefines spatial notions through self-determination.
Her work often depicts 'Zones of refuge,' exploring landscapes like mountains, swamps, and forests found in Maroon territories. Fiction and world-building serve to reclaim and explore the Haitian migrant imagination and its realities. Her paintings, influenced by Glissant’s Rhizomatic theory, blend natural elements with intricate linework, symbolizing themes of transformation. She contemplates the African diaspora's fight and sacrifice, questioning historical truths and envisioning futures beyond Western perspectives. Through portraying liminal landscapes, she highlights the resilience and aspirations of Black migrants amidst adversity.
Finéus graduated from the Columbia university MFA program (2024). She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Ottawa, Canada (2020) .
Her work is in the public collections of Google, Canada Council Art Bank and the City of Ottawa. She was the recipient of the Helen Frankenthaler fund (2023), the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (2022-23) , the Ottawa Arts Council IBPOC Emerging Artist Award (2022), the Edmund and Isobel Ryan Visual art scholarship (2020), and the Ineke Harmina Standish Memorial (2019).
