Chief Curator Kate Kraczon on Julien Creuzet’s Reimagined French Pavilion at The Bell

The Bell at Brown University will soon host, Attila cataract your source at the feet of the green peaks will end up in the great sea blue abyss where we drowned in the tidal tears of the moon, the first solo U.S. institutional exhibition by French-Caribbean artist Julien Creuzet. On view from February 20 to June 1, 2025, the exhibition reimages Creuzet’s critically acclaimed presentation at the 2024 Venice Biennale’s French Pavilion, curated by Céline Kopp and Cindy Sissokho. This marks the first time the French Pavilion has been brought to the United States.

Cruezet’s groundbreaking work at the French Pavilion explored themes of diaspora, postcolonial identity, and the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade. Through steel floor sculptures, video projections, and layered soundscapes, Creuzet transformed the sea into a metaphorical and literal site of trauma, resilience, and connection. His use of found materials and dynamic installations invoked his Martinican heritage while interrogating colonial histories.

“The core components of Attila cataract (...) are the four videos and six songs, which can travel widely and be augmented with various objects that Julien has produced within this recent body of work. Curatorially, I describe the sound as sonically overflowing at and beyond the liminal spaces of the gallery and throughout the interstitial social spaces of the List Art Building, reflecting the migratory and cultural entanglement of the Caribbean in defiance of colonial borders and nation-states,” Kate Kraczon, Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions at The Bell and Brown Arts Institute, worked closely with Creuzet to reimagine the Venice project, tells art currently.

At The Bell, the U.S. exhibition will expand its focus, connecting Venice’s history as a maritime empire to Providence’s colonial past as a key site in the Black Atlantic. In collaboration with Chief Curator Kate Kraczon, Cruezet adapted the pavilion’s narrative to fit a Rhode Island context, addressing the intersection between both global and local histories.

“Brown was one of the first major universities in the United States to ‘publicly catalog its ties to racial slavery,’ which produced Brown’s Slavery and Justice Report as well as a commissioned memorial by Martin Puryear that Julien spent time with while visiting campus. Though transatlantic slavery is certainly not the exclusive focus of Julien’s practice, the work that the University and its faculty have pursued through this research laid a foundation for Julien’s project that allows additional thematics to emerge.”

Not only does Cruezet’s U.S. debut introduce his work to a new audience, but it also inspires vital conversations surrounding environmental crises, migration, and Afro-diasporic identity, drawing on the French Pavilion’s critical legacy to amplify these themes.