Biography

Born in Gonaïves, Haiti, Naderson Saint Pierre’s artistic journey began in childhood as a storyteller. What started as weekly tales told to anyone who would listen gradually transformed into a lifelong devotion to creative expression. A self-taught painter, Saint Pierre is best known for his vibrant and compelling portraiture of Black subjects — works that explore love, family, and identity through color, emotion, and narrative depth.

His art reflects both his personal story and the broader human experience. Growing up, his family lost their home in a flood, forcing them to move frequently and leading him to miss two years of school. Yet it was during this unstable period that he discovered art — a source of freedom and purpose that has stayed with him ever since.

In 2019, Naderson moved from Haiti to Florida, where he experienced profound cultural change and began to refine his artistic voice. Though life there was stable, his spirit sought something more. In 2022, inspired by The Alchemist — the story of a young man’s journey to find his treasure — he made the bold decision to move to New York City. It wasn’t an easy path: he faced homelessness, often sleeping on subway trains, in hotels, or at friends’ homes. But each challenge strengthened his resolve to pursue art as his destiny.

Since then, Saint Pierre has exhibited in more than thirty shows across New York, France, the Netherlands, and South Korea. His portraits continue to honor Black identity, resilience, and love — while also serving as testaments to his own perseverance and faith.

“To Where Treasure Is”, the documentary film about Naderson’s journey, follows this courageous pursuit of purpose — from his roots in Haiti to the streets of New York. Through his story, I hope audiences find the courage to embrace their own path, to persevere through hardship, and to seek the treasure that lies within their journey.

Artist Statement

My art is rooted in storytelling — a language I first learned as a child in Haiti. Before I ever picked up a brush, I told stories to anyone who would listen, using words to make sense of the world around me. Painting became the natural continuation of that impulse — a way to speak without words, to translate emotion, memory, and resilience into color and form.

Through my portraits, I celebrate Black identity, love, and family, drawing from both my own experiences and the shared humanity that connects us all. Each face I paint carries a story — of strength, displacement, faith, or hope — told through layers of vibrant color and emotional depth.

My journey has not been easy. Losing my home in Haiti, moving between places, and eventually finding myself in New York City — these experiences shaped not only who I am but what I paint. They taught me that art can be both a refuge and a mirror, a way to endure and to understand.

I create to remind others, and myself, that even in hardship there is beauty, and within every struggle there is purpose. My work is a reflection of perseverance — a belief that, like in The Alchemist, our greatest treasure lies not in what we find, but in the journey that leads us there.