Alexandre Arrechea
Magnan Metz, New York
From April 15 through May 23, the first solo show of Cuban artist Alexandre Arrechea will be held at Magnan Metz Gallery, New York, in this new space which until 2009 was known as Magnan Projects. Arrechea was a member of Los Carpinteros group whose members, through sculpture, drawing and installation, examine the physical world and especially architecture and furniture, or spaces to be inhabited, with an elevated sense of humor, but in 2003 he initiated his individual career, which continues successfully to this day.
Since that time his work has taken the form of drawing, video and sculp- tural installation, reflecting in a way not devoid of irony, ludic elements and sense of humor on the modern ways of control and surveillance, on social hierarchies, prohibition, subjection and that which is “secret”.
Elasticity implies a new perspective in the artist’s body of work. While in other works he explored notions such as failure, suspicion and uncertainty, he now creates structures that defy the concept of the finite and manifest themselves in a continuous, never-ending movement, like that of a spinning top, which he had already introduced in his previous buildings. Based on emblematic buildings of his native Cuba, as well as on other representative ones from the United States, Arrechea creates a series of “rolled up” skyscrapers, as if such rigid elements could now become malleable, turning into tools. With this gesture he subverts the notion of the verticality of buildings and what this implies, creating elastic constructions that may be conceived as a metaphor for the need to adapt to the daily routine of the new modern reality.
In the show, we will be able to see, in addition to small sculptures, two large-size pieces as well as a series of watercolor paintings that represent both real and imaginary buildings.
