Kcho
dal 21/10/2005 al 14/1/2005
Segnalato da
21/10/2005
Kcho
New World Museum in Houston, Houston
Every man is an island. The artist use fisherman's huts, rubber inner tubes, oars, propellers and boats themselves in his installations and when he could go no further, he put them all together in a series of Hurricanes and 'Infinite Columns' in which all of his themes were stacked or swirled and combined to tell a complete story of his oeuvre.
Every man is an island
The New World Museum of Houston, in conjunction with the Pan American
Art Gallery of Dallas, will present a solo show by the acclaimed
contemporary Cuban artist, Kcho.
About the artist:
Alexis Leyva Machado, popularly known as Kcho, is one of the most
acclaimed contemporary artists from Cuba. Born on the Isle of Youth, he
moved to Havana in 1984 to complete his art studies at the National
School of Visual Arts. Since his first exhibition in 1986, Kcho has
taken the iconography and items from everyday life in Cuba and molded
them into an artistic statement. His work has evolved from the use of
traditional materials to the non-traditional when he walked into a
market one day and a row of shoe polish caught his eye. He grabbed up
several bottles and started painting away. Other times he painted with a
house roller, or created contraptions to hold many brushes together;
then he moved on to the objects themselves. In 2001 he even went so far
as to remove the dock that had been the source of inspiration for many
of his works, from its bay in Havana and had it shipped to Spain and
later to Japan to be installed for exhibition.
He has used fisherman's huts, rubber inner tubes, oars, propellers and
boats themselves in his installations and when he could go no further,
he did and put them all together in a series of Hurricanes and "Infinite
Columns" in which all of his themes were stacked or swirled and combined
to tell a complete story of his oeuvre. One initially sees all of his
work and might think that these are symbols of escape, the inner tubes
that are frequently mounted by clusters of Cubans striking out for
Miami, the propellers of boats, the oars to paddle to freedom, but they
are more poignantly symbols of what Cuba is, an island where the sea is
all encompassing. His work reflects the national experience of Cuba in
the 1990's when there was a wave of attempts at emigration and a sense
of loss.
Kcho has been the rising star in Cuba for over a decade now, he has
traveled the world to exhibit in the most important international art
events, and he is always given prime space in his native Cuba. He is a
man whose highly involved and developed works have come to be symbolic
of the arts in his country. He continues to live and work in Havana.
Select Exhibitions:
Artist of the Month, 1992, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana; Gallery of Contemporary Art, Mexico City, 1993;
Galeria Havana 1994; Foundation of Pilar and Joan Miro, Mallorca, Spain, 1995; Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, 1996; Studio Guenza, Milan, Italy 1996; International Center of Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada 1996; MOCA, Los Angeles, 1997; Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997; Galerie
Nationale du Jeu De Paume, Paris, France, 1998; Galeria GAN, Tokyo,
Japan, 1998; National Museum Center Queen Sophia, Madrid, Spain, 2000;
Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, 2000; Shisheido Gallery, Tokyo,
Japan 2001; Gallery 106, Austin, 2001, National Museum of Art, Havana,
Cuba, 2001; Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Turin, Italy,
2002; Museum of Sculpture, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2002; Archipelago, VIII
Biennale de Havana, 2003; Art Chicago, 2004; Museum of Contemporary Art,
Maracaibo, Venezuela, 2004; and Museum of Fine Art, Caracas, Venezuela,
2004. Kcho has represented Cuba in several international biennials,
including the Venice Biennale in 1999, and the Sao Paulo Bienal.
New World Museum is dedicated to the presentation and interpretation of
Hispanic contemporary art on a world-class level. Chartered in 2000 as
the city's only major Hispanic museum, New World Museum looks at art
from the 70s to the present.
Pan American Art Gallery, based in Dallas, Texas, specializes in art of
the Americas. Established in 1994, the gallery seeks to create a bridge
between North and South American cultures and to present and exhibit
artists from both regions concurrently. By dealing with emerging to
already established artists, as well as secondary market paintings,
sculpture, and works on paper, Pan American Art Gallery seeks to
contribute to the growing art community of Dallas. The gallery is an
active member of the Dallas Arts Dealers Association.
Lisa Taylor
Taylor-Made Press
923 Salmon Dr.
Dallas, TX
214-943-1099
Opening: Saturday, Oct. 22, 7:30-10:30 p.m.
New World Museum in Houston
5230 Center Street - Houston
Hours: Thursday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m.