The African Artist Lookens
Enchanting African Art Lovers

The African Artist Lookens creates a near mystical experience with his works, drawing consciously and unconsciously on his deep African roots, his rich Haitian heritage and his acquired Quebec culture.

Lookens' contemporary works can be seen as a dance between the exodus and the exotic according to an anonymous writer...

"... Contemporary is primarily a historical notion meaning two things being in the same time frame. It's clear that not all contemporary productions belong to contemporary art."

"People have used the term in an ambiguous way since the 80s. All the art produced by living artists, though contemporary, isn't necessarily contemporary art ..."

Scroll down the page or click here to jump to the section of this page containing a sampling of Lookens' works.

Lookens (aka Nolseko) Biography

Born in Jacmel, Haiti, Lookens the artist started painting at the age of 18 and very quickly saw his calling. He moved to Canada in 1978, pursuing studies in visual arts, particularly sculpture, at the University of Quebec at Montreal.

From 1983 he exhibited his paintings at Dazebo Gallery in Montreal. In 1987, he participated in the exhibition of the Cercle des Artistes Peintres du Quebec, where he received an honorable mention for his work entitled Flamingos.

His artistic approach is to combine several styles from Realism to Impressionism through Surrealism and Modernism. It tries to create a harmony between these styles together on the same canvas. Lookens defines his style as Regroup'Art.

Lookens considers himself an eco-designer and artist-recycler. His clothing and his sculptures are compelling; they are all created from different recycled materials.

Lookens says he is influenced by the work of his teacher, Franz Legros, whom he considers the first Haitian artist giving him the desire to paint. He currently lives in Montreal where he's practiced various trades related to the arts.

As a fashion designer, he also works with exotic fabrics from Africa and the Caribbean. Created in an Afro-European style, his models are manufactured locally in his Montreal studio, Atelier Lookens.

He also creates Web sites, and is a founding member of the group Nolseko Culture Mod'Art.

Gallery Of Works By Lookens

Type: Painting Title: Autumn Afternoon Size: 18" X 24" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$600

Type: Painting Title: Baby Ugolino Size: 21-1/2" X 24-1/2" Medium: Oil, acrylic, sand, sticks, string on canvas Price: CAD$1200

Type: Painting Title: Balance Size: 24" X 36" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$750

Type: Painting Title: Cacique Nolseko Size: 25" X 50" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$2500

Type: Painting Title: Colored Tears Size: 16" X 20" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$600

Type: Painting Title: Confusion Size: 24" X 36" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$2500

Type: Painting Title: Dawn Size: 8" X 10" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$250

Type: Painting Title: Freed Size: 20" X 22" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$1200

Type: Painting Title: Little River Size: 6" X 8" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$125

Type: Painting Title: Loophie Size: 22" X 30" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$1000

Type: Painting Title: Mali KKtwee Size: 21" X 24" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$1500

Type: Painting Title: Marine Scene Size: 9" X 12" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$300

Type: Painting Title: Plantain Still Size: 16" X 20" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$500

Type: Painting Title: Quebec Magic Size: 24" X 30" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$700

Type: Painting Title: Sexual Tourism Size: 11" X 42" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$800

Type: Painting Title: Shy One Size: 11" X 42" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$800

Type: Painting Title: Sophie Museum Size: 16" X 20" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$500

Type: Painting Title: Valley View Size: 18" X 28" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$650

Type: Painting Title: Vesta Chartreuse Size: 21" X 52" Medium: Oil on canvas Price: CAD$2500

Type: Mask Title: Cuckold Size: 20" X 11" Medium: Mixed Material (sawdust, sand, paper, acrylic, varnish, oil) Price: CAD$800

Type: Mask Title: Doubter Size: 17" X 15" Medium: Mixed Material (sawdust, sand, paper, acrylic, varnish, oil) Price: CAD$800

Type: Mask Title: Idiot Size: 30" X 12" Medium: Mixed Material (sawdust, sand, paper, acrylic, varnish, oil) Price: CAD$900

Type: Mask Title: Kiss Size: 10" X 10" Medium: Mixed Material (cement, sand, rope) Price: CAD$500

Type: Mask Title: Peeper Size: 25" X 19" Medium: Mixed Material (sawdust, sand, paper, acrylic, varnish, oil) Price: CAD$1000

Lookens On Masks

The origin of masks is lost in the mists of time, but it is unquestionably sacred. Masks are found among all peoples of the earth. Formerly, they were intended to show another face and not hide the wearer.

The word mask comes from the Italian masher means false face. It was only in the sixteenth century that the usual meaning of a disguise came into being.

The origin of masks, their appearance in the human community and their hstorical evolution are carefully memorized and recited in certain contexts. Their existence may be associated with a cosmological theory, the heroic acts of a mythical being, founder of ethnicity or more generally to the discovery of some specific ancestors.

Among the most common theories is a need for the incarnation of spirits of nature, and for men to curry their their favor by providing a receptacle through the mask.

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