The Collection

Patrick Eugène is a Haitian American painter whose large-scale figurative compositions combine the improvisational spirit of Abstract Expressionism with a deep engagement with diasporic identity and everyday Black life. His paintings often feature solitary central figures rendered in vibrant, gestural brushwork that conveys both stillness and emotional intensity. By merging abstraction with figuration, Eugène creates works that feel cinematic, animated, and musical in their rhythms.

The son of Haitian immigrants, Eugène draws on African diasporic connections between Haiti, the Caribbean, and North America. His process often begins with photographs he takes of people in his community, which he reinterprets through expressive color, fluid lines, and abstracted form. These transformations transcend naturalism, connecting his subjects to broader cultural histories and evoking the rich palettes and improvisational sensibilities of Haiti and the African diaspora.

Eugène situates his practice within a lineage of influential Black artists past and present, from Beauford Delaney, Horace Pippin, and Ed Clark to Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Henry Taylor. His admiration for Abstract Expressionism is paired with a fascination for the improvisatory nature of jazz, both of which inspire his approach to mood, experimentation, and emotional resonance.

“My work speaks to human connectivity using a minimalistic approach to evoke emotion,” Eugène has said. “Much of my work is void of a particular place or setting, hoping to leave a space for the viewer to transcend into a vessel without distraction or instruction.”