Raphaël Barontini
Luxiders

In a rich conversation with Belén Vera for Luxiders Magazine, Raphaël Barontini reflects on his multidisciplinary art practice, which blends painting, textiles, performance, and sound to explore themes of post-colonial identity, memory, and resistance. Deeply influenced by his Guadeloupean and Italian heritage and a multicultural upbringing in Saint-Denis, France, Barontini draws on African and Caribbean diasporic histories, particularly the Haitian Revolution, to create immersive works that reinterpret and revive overlooked narratives. His exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo, Quelque part dans la nuit, le peuple danse, inspired by Aimé Césaire’s La Tragédie du Roi Christophe, merges regal iconography, carnival aesthetics, and collective symbolism to challenge dominant colonial histories and celebrate cultural resilience.

 

Barontini discusses the evolution of his practice—from early collage work to large-scale textile installations incorporating digital and screen printing, embroidery, and costume-making. Movement and performance are central to his work, transforming static images into living expressions of identity, as seen in his performance Bal Pays.

 

He also speaks about future projects, including a series on Caribbean history and a potential collaboration with Creole opera singers in New Orleans. Influenced by artists like Romare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, and Kerry James Marshall, Barontini continues to reimagine history through a layered, collaborative, and visually striking approach that bridges past and present.