Artist Profile
by Natalie Willis Whylly, Curator, Writer + Cultural Worker
The Caribbean has long been seen as a space of mysticism, natural wonder, resistance, and resilience - and Chantal Bethel’s practice follows in this tradition. A pillar in the Grand Bahamian art community, Chantal’s working methodology around social concerns and the spiritual have given her an enduring practice that has resonated deeply with local, regional, and international audiences.
Her practice was nurtured in Grand Bahama island, forged in global connections, and honed by select tutors and mentors of her choosing. In artwork as in life, what has resonated with her most is this idea of light bursting forth from fissures, the light that breaks through cracks—in set beliefs, in foundations, and in the paint itself.
With her self-led creative research, and along with the instruction and tutelage of Bahamian and international artists alike, the Caribbean intuitive artist has explored ideas of our shared histories as Caribbean people, her personal experience, and political issues as well as spiritual upliftment.
Through her sincere efforts to connect and encourage creativity to those around her over the years, she has greatly impacted the growth of the creative community on the island of Grand Bahama.
Her desire to grow her own network of imaginative thinkers, has encouraged several artists across generations to take up the creative mantle with pride and curiosity, in community with kindred spirit.
CHANTAL E.Y. BETHEL BIO
Chantal E.Y. Bethel is a mixed media artist whose practice encompasses painting and sculpture. She uses her internal landscape and emotions as a source and celebrates the various cultures she has experienced. A Bahamian artist born in Haiti and educated in Belgium, Bethel’s art is complex and multilayered, like the artist herself. Her work reflects her story of discovery, healing, love, hope, and transformation.
Bethel loves to experiment with new techniques, particularly the acrylic “crackle” for which she has become known. The crackle is a medium that creates a shattered texture allowing the viewer to see beyond the surface and is, for her, a metaphor of life.
Bethel’s work is in the permanent collection of The Waterloo Centre for the Arts museum in Iowa, USA and the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. Her work can also be found in various corporate and private collections, including the Dawn Davies Collection and the D’Aguilar Art Foundation in The Bahamas.
A R T B O O K S
Beyond the Surface: Art, Discovery, Healing and Transformation tells personal and universal stories within this full colour 112-page hardcover coffee table book sharing artist Chantal Bethel's works. Through the lens of her creative journey, themes and discoveries within her art explore both healing and joy, transforming pain through layers of intuitive and figurative expression. Her life takes her from Haiti to Belgium to The Bahamas where she lives and works with her husband and family. A selection of essays, quotes, and poems about the artist's bodies of work showcased in the book is also included by notable writers, art historians, curators, artists, friends, and critics. Published Fall 2019. Hard copies of the book are available at National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (Mixed Media shop), and Currents art space at BahaMar Resort, Nassau, Bahamas.
POTO MITAN is Artist Chantal Bethel's journey of prayer and hope for the healing of Haiti — the land of her birth and the site of so much devastation and loss in the January 2010 earthquake. The art exhibition chronicled here is dedicated to the victims of that tragic event, and explores connections between the main aspects of Haiti's spiritual universe—the Catholic and the Vodou—a religion born of African heritage that is often dismissed by a skeptical world as harmful superstition. A lifelong Christian, Bethel uses her artistic license to create a sacred space of prayer—searching for shared roots of hope and spirit, she invites viewers to a deeper embracing of both our differences and even greater similarities as divinely human beings. Poto Mitan is a Creole word for the center pole (or peristyle) of a Vodou temple. In these riveting, heartfelt, and engaging artworks, Poto Mitan is the place where Heaven meets Earth: a healing place. Published December 2011. To purchase, click book cover photo.