Raphaël Barontini

Raphaël Barontini (b. 1984 in Saint-Denis, France; lives and works in Paris) finds inspiration in paying homage to the legacies set by figures of historical movements for liberation. In a style of collage combining photography, silk screen printing, painting, and digital prints, Raphaël Barontini deploys a painting in movement that takes a new look at history while questioning the very status of painting in the museum and public space.

Flags, banners, tapestries and ceremonial capes are superimposed to create large immersive and illuminated scenographies that question the representation of power, its ceremonial and its carnivalesque inversion. For Barontini, challenging the canon of history surrounding cultures and territories that have experienced slavery or colonization remains priority. His work establishes a “counter-history” through the depiction of heroes, both real and imaginary.

As an activation of his textile works, Barontini designed 70 costumes for his performance, Déboulé céleste, a three-movement processional piece. This performance composed of dancers and musicians, depicted the battle between the Moon and the Sun through two mas groups: the skin drum group Choukaj and the snare drum group Bully Mas.

Raphaël Barontini’s work has been exhibited in institutions around the world, including Palais de Tokyo (Paris, France), Museum of Arts and Design (New York, USA), SCAD Museum of Art (Savannah, USA), MAC VAL (Vitry-sur-Seine, France), Museum of African Diaspora (San Francisco, USA), The New Art Exchange Museum (Nottingham, UK), Museum of Arts and Design (New York, USA) and the Currier Museum of Art (New Hampshire, USA). 

He has also participated in the international biennials of Bamako (Mali), Casablanca (Morocco), Lima (Peru), and Thessaloniki (Greece). In 2020, he was chosen by LVMH Métiers d’Art to complete a residency in Singapore. In 2023, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux offered Raphaël Barontini a Carte Blanche exhibition within the walls of the Pantheon entitled We Could be Heroes.