Who are we ?
(and above all) our action
Manifesto
the why of the project, what makes us vibrate
In an age when borders are blurring and cultures are blending, we have created a Creole Art House.
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To bring to life the diversity of stories told by artists from our territories. Our artists who explore, create and tell their stories, each in their own way. But for Christelle Clairville, our founder, all their artistic approaches resonate with the Creole essence and say something about the West Indies. She shares with us echoes of her childhood in Guadeloupe.
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"Who better than artists to share authentic representations of our territories? To dispel the misunderstanding of our cultures? I invite you to rediscover the West Indies through the eyes of artists and the emotions that drive them as they create, paint and shape matter. I hope to give you a different image of our islands.
La Maison Gaston also embraces tradition, the skills handed down from generation to generation. As in other cultures where ceramics or jade work are considered art, woodcarving and embroidery are practices in their own right in our House. Our approach, like our Creole heritage, is hybrid and surprising.
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We believe that by using local materials and perpetuating ancestral skills, craftspeople can also tell the story of our islands.
Each object, each sculpture is part of a deep connection with our territory. This fusion of art and craft is a celebration of the many facets of our culture. A place where multiple identities meet, merge and create unexpected artistic expressions.
We believe that each artist, each work, brings a unique nuance and weaves the living fabric of our House. Some question our relationship with the world as islanders, others explore the racial interactions inherited from history, and still others evoke the body in a tropical environment. Our House brings these works into dialogue, interpreting them as fragments of a shared narrative, an invitation to question stereotypes and rethink cultural symbols.
Even though we are 'on the periphery', our stories have the capacity to transcend borders and enrich the global art scene. The Maison Gaston aspires to be a catalyst for this dynamic, a platform for amplifying the voices of artists from the West Indies. Then our islands will become the starting point for unique visual narratives, celebrating the diversity of ways of being in the world. Here, art is an authentic reflection of life, an open window on Creolity.
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The course of our founder
A native of Guadeloupe, Christelle Clairville has always had a passion for great stories. When she arrived in France for her studies, she often had to deal with certain prejudices about her native island and its people. Remarks and preconceived ideas that were also prevalent in the professional world.
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It was in Taiwan that she realised the extent to which artistic expression tells the story of a people. For her, art is the expression of an emotion, a force that transcends prejudice, a bridge between two hearts.
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Christelle is a determined person, who pursues her career at full speed: salesperson, project manager, marketing director... each job brings her closer to the moment when she decides to set up her own business, La Maison Gaston.
