Machann Melon, 2023

Herriot Duplan  

Herriot Duplan, known by his artist name Rio Duplan, was born on February 12, 1959, in Cap-Haïtien at the Justinien Hospital. The son of an agronomist and a home economics officer, both employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, he grew up following the rhythm of his parents' professional assignments. These frequent moves across Haiti profoundly shaped his outlook: as he traveled through villages and landscapes, he developed a lasting fascination with rural Haitian life—its traditions, beliefs, craftsmanship, and above all, its people.

This deep immersion in peasant culture became the living source of his work. Through his paintings, Rio Duplan seeks to immortalize the simple, vibrant, and authentic beauty of the Haitian countryside—a beauty rich in color and steeped in human stories.

Self-taught, he showed a natural talent for drawing from a very young age, as soon as he could hold a pencil. His adolescence marked a turning point: after visiting several galleries in Port-au-Prince and studying artistic movements, particularly Impressionism, he chose realism and, in 1974, adopted oil painting on canvas as his primary means of expression. He briefly explored acrylics but quickly returned to oil, which he values for its depth and texture and later worked extensively with a palette knife.

The early years of his career were marked by recognition. In 1978, he won first prize in the painting competition of the Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague. The following year, he participated in the Feria organized by the same institution. In 1981, he received an award at the Exhibition of Young Painters at the French Institute of Haiti for his work (“Dieu Si Bon").

His works are permanently exhibited at the Festival Arts Gallery, where several exhibition openings have celebrated his work, notably on May 5, 2017; December 14, 2019; and March 19, 2020.

Even today, Rio Duplan continues his artistic mission: to paint and elevate the rural and popular life of Haiti in all its diversity and depth, with the sensitivity and generosity that define his work.