Born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti and raised in Brooklyn, NY,  the works of Francks F. Deceus are entrenched with symbolic figures, minimalist tones, and curated space to bring awareness to sociological issues present in America. “Rooted in my experience as a Black man and Haitian immigrant raised in an urban context in the United States of America, I explore the tension between self-actualization and social structures. Through conceptual, abstract and figurative painting, collage and drawing I examine a layered experience of identity.”

By utilizing a mix of references ranging from social media emojis to iconography from African diasporic voodoo ceremonies, he bridges the gap between the African-American experience and the Haitian immigrant experience.

“While skin color and ancestry may be shared, nuanced details of identity formation in the context of Blackness lay hidden in the work: namely, the disillusionment and failed expectations of immigrants, particularly Black immigrants, at the hands of an overrated, inflated, and naive perception of the American Dream.” Deceus received a B.A. in sociology from Long Island University, NY, in 1992.

He studied printmaking at the venerated Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and completed a month-long printmaking residency in Gentilly, France in 2007. His solo exhibitions include the Pounder-Kone Art Space, Los Angeles; Tilford Art Group, Los Angeles. His work has been featured in several group exhibitions including the Brooklyn Museum, NY; Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MOCADA), Brooklyn, NY; The National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN; Gallery M, New York, NY; and Hampton University, Hampton, VA.Private and public collections that feature his work include Xavier University, New Orleans, LA, and the Schomburg Center, New York Public Library, NY. He currently maintains a studio in Brooklyn, N.Y.