US | Gerard Caliste: Waterlines

“She Bears Her Soul,” Gerard Caliste Art, 2008.

Unimaginable tragedy often inspires artistic masterpieces. New Orleans painter Gerald Caliste created his Waterlines series to come to grips with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After Katrina, Caliste, who was living in New Orleans at the time, looked to painting as his personal narrative to document what the people of New Orleans experienced. The aptly titled series is symbolic of the waterlines and stains Caliste saw on every house in New Orleans after the storm. “Before the storm, the direction of my work was fragmented,” writes Caliste, “I had no idea what direction my art was heading or purpose that I wanted my work to convey. The storm really opened the floodgates of emotions for me.”