Marie-Denise Douyon arrived in Montreal in 1990 with a typical background of international and intercultural experience, adding her unique voice to the mosaic that is Canadian society Douyon's language is the language of art and she has been continually reaching into her past for inspiration for her colorful paintings.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1961, Douyon left with her family at the age of 3, escaping the oppressive regime of Papa Doc Duvalier. She spent her childhood in Morocco, moving later to the United States, where she graduated with honors from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and found employment as an illustrator and graphic artist.

"My passion is still painting," Douyon said, "despite my graphic background." She has been exhibiting regularly in Montreal and in the U.S., and is showing her latest works at the Maison de la Culture Notre Dame de Gr‰ce. The exhibition is titled Rencontre entre Deux Mondes: Tradition et les Arts Actuels (Meeting of two Worlds: Tradition and Contemporary Art), and as do most of Douyon's paintings, it revolves around the image of the woman bearing the weight of society on her shoulders. Any society.

"It's always 'the crŽolitŽ', " she explained, "but defined not by a geographical position (i.e., the Caribbean), but rather by a look at the cross-breeding, the intercultural, in short, at tolerance. "

She paints women dressed in the colorful robes of the tropics but "these women can also be QuŽbŽcois, Moroccan or Irish. It's women as pillars of society. "

Douyon's fascination with the image of the women was further strengthened by a particular painful experience. Returning briefly to Haiti when Prosper Avril was in power, Douyon found herself in a prison for several months, locked in a communal cell with other women. Although never charged with any specific offence, she was beaten and admitted fearing for her life. Thanks to an international outcry and the tireless campaigning by her friends and family, she was finally released ("otherwise, I would've perished like a rat"), but what she had witnessed in prison left an indelible mark on her psyche.

Unwilling to go into details about the ordeal, she prefers instead to speak through her works, creating powerful portraits of sombre-faced women, her homage to those who remained behind and to all women who suffer the same lot.

Douyon says the prison experience made her stronger and it made her aware of the innate strength shared by all women.

"I discovered (there) the determination and the power to survive that women have, " she said. "From that moment, I was obsessed with the vision of a woman."

It was then that the idea for the series of paintings was born. The 26 works on display form a unique iconography that goes beyond portraiture. The image of the woman is central to all of them, but she is surrounded by symbol taken from different traditions and lore, allowing for a visual adventure in which everyone can find a point of reference.

Douyon is adept at combining a simple pictorial line with elements of contemporary art, creating a narrative that speaks on several levels. "My primary preoccupation revolves human and social issues, " she wrote in her artist's statement "since no emotion belongs to one particular people. "

The emotions she evokes in her colorful acrylics are the undertow that makes her works so captivating despite their deceptively simple and bold presentation. The composition is balanced, with faces and bodies often outlined in black resembling stained glass.

The women in Douyon's paintings seem absorbed in their own reverie, elegant and proud, carrying their daily burden with stoic acceptance. There's something of the heroic in their stance, their steady gaze unflinching. Some are young, sitting cross-legged in their billowing robes of ultramarine, yellow and red like meditating deities. Others have lined, weathered faces and knobby hands folded on their chests. The portraits are bordered by tiny figures and scenes, some spilling onto the canvas.

"Invitation" shows a bust of a woman, the tones are warm with orange and red predominating. A pattern like a broken necklace runs diagonally across her body. She has a dreamy, flirtation expression on her face, welcoming yet mysterious.

In Femme du Sud, (Woman from the South) she comes closest to the image of a Caribbean woman dressed in a patterned turban in blues and green. In Attente dans la Nuit, (Awaiting at Night), the woman is painted against a dark sky, the stars around her head like a myriad of fireflies. Tiny boats with oarsmen float in front of her closed eyes, sailing as if out of her dream.

Souvenir d'Enfance (Childhood Memory) follows the same pattern, with a central female figure surrounded by minute characters and objects that form a narrative. Children chase dogs or play with toys, tiny pram teeters on the woman's finger, the whole resembling an illustration from Gulliver's Travels.

In Chant des Alouettes, (Singing Larks), it is tiny gold birds that populate the border around the woman in a blue headdress and robe, one perched on her shoulder as if whispering something in her ear.

Douyon is wonderfully bold in her use of color and it's particularly effective in a painting called Le Secret des Dieux. (The God's secrets.) The woman's expression is pensive: dressed in white, she brings to mind a priestess. In her simple robe, she stands out against a brilliant red and orange background, deep blue accents adding to the vibrant play of color. Mythological-like figures of men and birds decorate the border, creating a fantastic tableau.

Douyon's works speak of the many cultures she has experienced and of her versatile artistic training. They combine images from the sun drenched fields of Caribbean Islands with universal symbolism, weaving a patch-work narrative which can be viewed from a number of perspectives.

L'Aquilon d'Automne (North wind) unites the many influences visible in Douyon's paintings into one poignant image. It's a portrait of an old woman, her dark faced lined and pensive, shoulders stooped with age and work. Tiny white snowflakes float down, superimposed on the canvas. One settles gently in the woman's palm, incongruous in its delicacy against her cracked skin. The meeting of two worlds.

Rencontre des deux Mondes: Tradition et Art Actuel (Encounter of two Worlds: Tradition and Contemporary Art), works by Marie-Denise Douyon, is at La Maison de la Culture Notre Dame de Gr‰ce, 3755 Botrel St., till Feb 23. Opening hours: Tuesday and Wednesday, 1p.m to 8p.m., Friday to Sunday, 1 to 7p.m. Information: 872-2157.

Dorota Kozinska
Special to the Gazette