Title : Mache Telèlè
Date: 2025
From: Pétion-Ville, Haiti
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 20 × 24 inches
Artist: Polyte Misseaux
Polyte Misseau is a Haitian painter from the small coastal village of Pestel, now residing in the slum of Jalousie of Pétion-Ville in the West Department. Recognizing early on that staying in his picturesque hometown would limit his opportunities for survival, Polyte made the difficult choice to leave Pestel on his twentieth birthday in search of better prospects in Port-au-Prince. In 2002, he completed his first painting—a fisherman on the beach—evoking the fond memories of his life in Pestel. As his artistic journey progressed, Polyte began developing a signature style, focusing on minimalist market scenes. His distinctive approach involves using just two colors—a background hue and a single color to outline merchants and their goods—creating a striking yet simple visual narrative.
Description:
Mache Telèlè (Telèlè Market) is a mesmerizing composition that captures the pulse of daily life in Haiti’s open-air markets. With his signature minimalist style, Polyte Misseaux transforms the crowd into a rhythmic tapestry of repetition and movement — faceless figures rendered in soft monochrome, punctuated by bursts of color from overflowing baskets of fruit and vegetables.
This sea of silhouettes reflects both individuality and unity — a celebration of community, labor, and survival. Each basket tells a story of persistence; each curved line echoes the collective heartbeat of the Haitian people. In Mache Telèlè, Misseaux distills the market’s chaos into harmony, offering an abstract yet deeply human portrait of resilience.
Title : Mache Telèlè
Date: 2025
From: Pétion-Ville, Haiti
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 20 × 24 inches
Artist: Polyte Misseaux
Polyte Misseau is a Haitian painter from the small coastal village of Pestel, now residing in the slum of Jalousie of Pétion-Ville in the West Department. Recognizing early on that staying in his picturesque hometown would limit his opportunities for survival, Polyte made the difficult choice to leave Pestel on his twentieth birthday in search of better prospects in Port-au-Prince. In 2002, he completed his first painting—a fisherman on the beach—evoking the fond memories of his life in Pestel. As his artistic journey progressed, Polyte began developing a signature style, focusing on minimalist market scenes. His distinctive approach involves using just two colors—a background hue and a single color to outline merchants and their goods—creating a striking yet simple visual narrative.
Description:
Mache Telèlè (Telèlè Market) is a mesmerizing composition that captures the pulse of daily life in Haiti’s open-air markets. With his signature minimalist style, Polyte Misseaux transforms the crowd into a rhythmic tapestry of repetition and movement — faceless figures rendered in soft monochrome, punctuated by bursts of color from overflowing baskets of fruit and vegetables.
This sea of silhouettes reflects both individuality and unity — a celebration of community, labor, and survival. Each basket tells a story of persistence; each curved line echoes the collective heartbeat of the Haitian people. In Mache Telèlè, Misseaux distills the market’s chaos into harmony, offering an abstract yet deeply human portrait of resilience.
