Enfant Au Ballon (Child with Ball) by Max H. Gerbier

Oil on canvas

In this simple and sweet painting, a young boy stands on a grass field. He is wearing a white striped shirt and jean shorts. His arms are outstretched and his gaze is captured by the soccer ball poised in midair in front of him. In the captured moment, it is unclear whether the boy has just tossed the ball or is waiting to catch it. Gerbier has depicted a scene that is familiar to many of us around the globe and in fact, there is nothing to indicate the location of this painting. Do you think the universality of this painting was intentional?

Artist Bio: Max Gerbier was born in Milo near Cap-Haitien in Northern Haiti on September 10, 1951. He comes out of the workshop of the great master Philome Obin after receiving encouragement from Harrison Obin. He started to paint at the Centre d'Art in 1973. Gerbier typically paints scenes of daily life set in the local landscape, Gerbier notably exhibited work in Brooklyn in the 1970’s and 1980’s. In 1986, Gerbier relocated to Montreal, Canada.

Since then, many of his paintings have depicted the distinctly changing seasons Gerbier has witnessed in Canada.