Paul Jacoulet art exhibit opens at T Galleria

DFS Saipan, in collaboration with the Northern Marianas Humanities Council, is hosting an art exhibit featuring the Japanese-styled woodblock portraits made by Paul Jacoulet, a French artist who visited Saipan and other Micronesian islands during 1920 to 1930. The exhibit started on Sept. 15 at the T Galleria in Garapan.

DFS Saipan general manager Milan Rabold shared that the event is the very first exhibition hosted by the luxury brand store. A special stage for the portraits were constructed just for the event, with plans for holding other art exhibitions in the future.

“This is the first time we have converted our store into an exhibition space. We call it the white box. We are using it today to exhibit Paul Jacoulet,” he said.

Rabold also shared that DFS is also exerting efforts to attract tourists who shop at the T Galleria to look at the art exhibit, as the tourists are curious about the CNMI.

“We’re trying to further the local arts and history and show our customers what the islands are all about. That is what the customers want today, they want to know about the place, history, and culture,” he said. “It was the Norther Marianas Humanities Council that came to us and offered this exhibition to us. We thought it was a great idea and we were happy to work with them and make it possible.”

Rabold said that the paintings are portraits of real people that were friends with Paul Jacoulet during his stay in the CNMI. “The paintings are actually portraits of local people, people that Jacoulet met when he was living here on Saipan. Today, you have the descendants of the people here at the store.”

DFS thinks that it is a good time to feature Paul Jacoulet at DFS, because of the Korean holiday known as Chuseok, which is the Korean version of Thanksgiving.

“We as DFS want to help and promote the culture and history of Saipan. We have a lot of tourists that come through. Right now it is Chuseok, the Korean holiday so there is a lot of people on island. Yesterday there were eight flights that arrived from Korea. We just want to do our part to show our guests here on Saipan what this island is really about,” said Rabold.

Northern Marianas Housing Corp. corporate director Jesse Palacios’ grand aunts Mathilde Sablan-Diaz and Rita Sablan-Diaz were amongst those who were featured in the art exhibit. “It’s significant, really. It’s really nice to see family members portrayed here. When I was young, I see my two grandma’s sisters all the time growing up but I’ve never really seen them from this [perspective] when they were younger. It kind of brings back memories,” said Palacios. “They look like they’re still alive. The paintings are very magnificent.”

Joan Gill, an enthusiastic Paul Jacoulet fan was also present during the exhibit. “My husband (Peter Gill) is an enthusiastic Jacoulet collector, and I have been exposed to many of his works and we’ve seen the entire collection at Pasadena, which was amazing. It’s just thrilling to see it here in Micronesia,” said Gill.

She shared that the process of Japanese wood block printing was very tedious, and that Jacoulet created unique paintings because the techniques were usually used for painting landscapes by the Japanese. “The more people that are exposed, the better It’s a fabulous exhibit of local beauty, and the actual technique of making these Japanese wood block paintings is incredible, so just the artistic value is exceptional and the depiction of the local women here on Saipan is just gorgeous.”

Many descendants of the featured families flocked to the event. Among them was Frances Arriola, Palacios’ aunt. Although she refused to be interviewed, she still posed for a picture while holding the original copy of Rita Sablan-Diaz’s portrait. Rita and Mathilde Sablan-Diaz are Arriola’s aunts.

The Jacoulet art exhibit will be open to the public at the T Galleria until Oct. 15.