Born in Jacmel in 1949, Michel Sinvil and his family moved to Port-au-Prince when the artist was a child.  He first earned his living as an auto mechanic and a tap-tap driver.  He engaged in Carnival as a mask-maker.  He owes his initial recognition as an artist to this folk tradition.  Carnival re-enacts traditional masquerades and also provides opportunities for creative spirits to invent new characters and costumes.  Sinvil came to the attention of Pierre Monosiet in 1975.  Sinvil embarked on his new career as an artist.  

In order to realize his ambitious, occasionally life-size sculptures, Sinvil was obliged to invent a special technique.  Once an idea is conceived, the artist makes a mold of sand, pours the paper and glue into it, and lets the sculpture dry in the sun.  The next step is to embellish the sculpture with color.

Despite a certain crudeness of technique, Sinvil's works are distinguished by an air of authority, evoking feelings of respect and awe.  The originality of his conception, the boldness of form and design, and the purity and brilliance of color are at first shocking to the beholder's eye.  Yet the strength of vision and imagery, filled with mystery, commands the attention of the viewer.

from Ute Stebich in Haitian Art The Brooklyn Museum, Harry Abrams, Inc., 1978