Artist Ricardo Ozier-Lafontaine works mainly with large-scale pieces, like this abstract image, in black and white. (Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery/Courtesy of the artist).
Artist Ricardo Ozier-Lafontaine works mainly with large-scale pieces in black and white. (Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery/Courtesy of the artist).

Seimandi & Leprieur, a new contemporary art gallery in Santa Barbara, is presenting Fertilum, the first U.S. solo exhibit by French-Caribbean artist Ricardo Ozier-Lafontaine.

The show which is free to attend, runs through Oct. 5 at 33 W. Anapamu St. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.

Working primarily with large-scale black-and-white compositions (some stretching over 12 feet) Ozier-Lafontaine explores memory, matter and form through abstraction.

“His work is grounded in a physically engaged process: gestural, spontaneous, and intuitive, with rapid brushwork alternating with layered, meditative sequences,” the gallery said.

Ozier-Lafontaine was born in Martinique and works between Paris, the French Caribbean, and Barbados. His recent exhibits include shows in New York, San Francisco, and at the United Nations Headquarters.

“He is part of a new generation of artists whose practice engages with global abstraction beyond traditional labels, merging personal language with broader visual lineages,” according to Seimandi & Leprieur.

The show is curated by gallery co-founders Fanny Seimandi and Julien Leprieur, who opened the space earlier this year in the former Bluebird Café.