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Jeffery Dread, Artist

"I love Saint Barth,” says visual artist Jeffrey Dread, over coffee one morning at Maya To Go He cuts quite a figure on the island, zipping around is his black convertible Mini Cooper, dreadlocks bouncing in the sun. His love for the island has translated into a Valentine’s gift, an exhibit of his work (February 14-21) at Nikki Beach, entitled “Celebrating Valentine with Artwork inspired by Love, Life and Synergy.” His bright, multi-colored images of stars were seen at Nikki Beach in December in an exhibit called “Hollywood Icons.” A native of Haiti, Dread moved to New York in 1987 to study art, and escape the political climate of his country. “I worked as a taxi driver to pay for college,” he recalls, and perhaps it was all this driving through the streets of the Big Apple that helped him fall in love with the city. “I liked the skyscrapers and fast pace of life,” he says. He was soon part of the scene, living in New York but jetsetting to the Cote D’Azur. St. Barth couldn’t be far behind, and once he discovered the island, he considers it his home away from home. In 1998 he began making portraits of the many celebrities he has photographed, including Michael Jordan, Ashley Simpson, Beyonce Knowles, Giorgio Armani, Mariah Carey, Mick Jagger, Paris Hilton, Sophia Loren, and Tom Cruise. The list of people who have his work on their walls is equally star-studded. His artwork can be purchased and commissioned at PhotoVibe Gallery, in South Miami Beach. His choice of colors is electric and vibrant: “I love Carnival in Rio and in Haiti,” he admits, adding that the colors seen in Carnival celebrations helped inspire his work The special valentine’s exhibit includes paintings based on love, life and synergy, such as a large pink canvas with four white circles and lots of little red hearts, or another of a large red heart with the words “I love you” written in many different languages. Circles and words such as “romance, friendship, bond, and liaison,” represent the idea of synergy between two people, as Dread believes in “circles of life” and “circles of love.” If Nikki Beach represents a certain type of celebrity-induced lifestyle, Dread is part of the picture, with exhibits planned at Nikki Beach locations around the world. “We are all celebrities in our own rights,” he says. “We all can make a difference.”