Ludovic Booz (Haitian, 1940-2015)

Ludovic Booz (June 16, 1940 - February 2, 2015) was a Haitian sculptor and painter born in Aquin. He began drawing early with charcoal, chalk, pencil, or pen, before settling in Port-au-Prince in 1946 and enrolling at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1960. Booz launched his career at the Art Center, where he met Antonio Joseph, and carved wood into spiral forms representing women and motherhood. He was the first sculptor to treat wood with beeswax, earning the description "sculpts with a brush" for his command of color, per La Peinture Haitienne / Haitian Arts by Marie-Jose Nadal and Gerald Bloncourt (Editions Nathan, 1986). His distinctions include bronze busts of Presidents Francois Duvalier, John F. Kennedy, and Dumarsais Estime, and exhibitions in Israel, Suriname, and France. Critic Gerald Alexis noted the elongated forms in his paintings reflect his sculptural training.