Caribbean Surrealism comes to Gilroy

Artist Robert Paul Steinhauer, known professionally as “Bika,” will showcase his vibrant Haitian-inspired paintings in a solo exhibition opening May 2 at the Gilroy Center for the Arts.

The exhibition features works that reflect Steinhauer’s childhood in Haiti and his unique perspective as an artist who bridges Caribbean and North American cultural traditions.

Steinhauer grew up as a child of American missionaries in Haiti, where he was nicknamed “Bika”—meaning “shooter” or “marble head” in Haitian Creole—because his white head gleamed brighter than those of his playmates.

“I grew up on the island of Haiti, the culture of Haiti, the country of Haiti, the first African-American black republic in the western hemisphere,” Steinhauer said. “In Haiti, everything is so alive, everything is vibrant and bright, bright colors, mismatch of colors, crazy hairstyles, beautiful colors. It affected my whole thinking.”

The exhibition includes more than 30 pieces characterized by what the artist describes as “folk surrealism.” Many paintings incorporate recurring themes from his Caribbean upbringing, including tropical landscapes, cultural celebrations and spiritual imagery.

Steinhauer works exclusively in acrylic, often employing a technique called impasto that creates thick, textured surfaces. Some works are painted on plexiglass sheets and backlit to enhance their luminescence.

One of the exhibition’s featured pieces captures the early tropical dawn with hummingbirds amid palms bathed in golden light.

“The sun in the tropics, and the Caribbean, the sun comes up in a way that is like liquid gold,” Steinhauer said. “It saturates everything, at about six in the morning everything turns orangish-yellow.”

A distinguishing characteristic of Steinhauer’s work is the presence of watchful eyes embedded throughout his compositions.

“In Haiti, everything has eyes and is watching you,” he said. “Even a plant moves, you think it’s a plant, and it’s a hairy insect in disguise. Everywhere you go, everything is moving, and that has affected my work.”

Steinhauer began painting seriously in 1990 following personal tragedy. After losing his 16-year-old daughter in a car accident, his brother suggested art as therapy for grief. Previously a graphic designer and commercial photographer who counted Fairchild Semiconductor among his clients, Steinhauer found healing through fine art.

“I was influenced by French artists, Rousseau and other impressionists, and that affected me a lot,” he said.

Before retiring, Steinhauer served as a pastor for 40 years, including a decade as senior pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church, the oldest African-Canadian church in western Alberta. He holds a Doctorate of Ministry in Religious Fine Arts.

“My motivation comes totally from Haitian culture,” Steinhauer said. “Haitians are very open people, and that affected all of my paintings, and the drama that is in my paintings.”

Steinhauer positions himself deliberately against contemporary art trends, advocating for what he terms “moral art” that celebrates beauty rather than darkness.

“I deplore the superficiality and elitism of most academic graduate art programs, institutions, museums and other snobbish circles where some of the most depressing, dehumanizing, even demonic works are hailed as genius,” Steinhauer states in his bio.

Instead, he aims to create works that inspire wonder and evoke positive emotional responses.

“My aim and passion, hopefully, is to catch the gleam of delight in the eye of God, the good, the awesomely majestic and truthful,” he said. “If for only an instant, one person is caught up in the wonder of ‘wow’ in such a way that a sense of aesthetic hopefulness, a surge of rapt joy seeks acknowledgment, then I have only to be thankful.”

Steinhauer’s exhibit opens at 7pm May 2 at the Gilroy Center for the Arts, and will be accompanied by live music, including singing by local vocalist Robert Butler. Admission is free for the public.

Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter.