Stephane Desir was born in Port-au Prince, Haiti on Friday 13, 1985. Where most would say its “bad luck,” Stephane would greatly disagree, his birthday has been nothing but luck. He spent most of his early moments in seclusion after spending almost seven years at a boarding school in Paquot, Port–au– Prince. At 12, Stephane reconnected with his father, fellow artist Mario Barbier, who helped to spark his passion into painting, art and culture.  Mario taught Stephane all of his techniques, starting with painting on glass, then moved on the canvas and then introduction unconventional materials. He was exposed to a world filled with colors, stories and thrived on a new way of expressing himself through art.  

When he was 14, Stephane’s mother had sent for son, and he moved to the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. The art that once thrived quickly shifted, the ideas and cultures of his new setting took over quickly and he stopped painting.  He lived his life like any of the other American youths, graduating high school, moving on to attend Ohio University and working an impressive career in the retail industry.  

At 27, the winds of change blew once again, and Stephane followed suit. He  quit his job as a Junior District Manager and decided to pursue his passion for art  once again. He has spent the last few years perfecting his craft, finding his voice as  an artist, revisiting his homeland and once again reconnecting with his father. He  was able to find what inspires him the most and was able to convey his viewpoint on  Haitian culture, the diaspora, social justice and human emotion. Stephane uses the  same unconventional materials his father taught him such as coconut skins, fabrics  and animal hides.  

In October 2016 Stephane featured his first solo art show, with more than 15  original pieces featured with all sorts of inspirations, from his love of music,  memories from Haiti and social topics. Since then, Stephane has done residencies,  has been featured in noteworthy art shows around New York City, and has been  inaugurated as the ambassador for a Brooklyn-based arts collective, currently under  fiscal sponsorship with the Brooklyn Arts Council since 2019.