Alexandre Arrechea (born 1970) is a Cuban visual artist. His work involves concepts of power and its network of hierarchies, surveillance, control, prohibitions, and subjection. For twelve years he was a member of the art collective

Los Carpinteros ''Los Carpinteros'' is a Cuban artist collective founded in Havana in 1992 by Marco Antonio Castillo Valdes, Dagoberto Rodriguez Sanchez, and Alexandre Arrechea (who left the group in 2003). In 1994 they decided "to renounce the notion of individu ...

, until he left the group in July 2003 to continue his career as a solo artist. His public art The spectator's participation in the work adds to his contemplation. The work arises out of human actions and reactions in the face of contemporary versions of the worldview already described by

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in the 18th century. The eye of power watches everything and everyone, and everyone watches everyone else and themselves. The interdisciplinary quality of Arrechea's work reveals a profound interest in the exploration of both public and domestic spaces. This quest has led him to produce several monumental projects like “Ciudad Transportable” (2000), “The Garden of Mistrust” (2003-2005) and “Perpetual Free Entrance” (2006). Arrechea has been represented by the Casado Santapau Gallery in Madrid since 2006.

Biography

Arrechea was born in

Trinidad, Cuba Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in ...

in 1970. Arrechea graduated from the

Instituto Superior de Arte The University of Arts of Cuba / Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) was established on September 1, 1976, by the Cuban government as a school for the arts. Its original structure had three schools: Music, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. History ...

(ISA) of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 1994. He lives between Madrid and Miami, with his wife, Cuban art historian Marlene Barrios de Arrechea and their two children.

Work

Arrechea made his name thanks to the art collective

, composed of Marco Antonio Castillo Valdés and Dagoberto Rodríguez Sánchez. The three artists began working behind their collective moniker back in 1994, and they became rapidly successful. The

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

acquired several of their drawings for the museum's permanent collection. Arrechea decided to leave Los Carpinteros in July 2003, to begin a solo career. His first individual project was El Jardin de la Desconfianza (The Garden of Mistrust), an epic installation in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

that required two years of work (2003-2005). The central piece of the work was a whitewashed aluminum tree whose branches were outfitted with video cameras which recorded spectators and broadcast them on the Internet. His public art often involves concepts of power and its network of hierarchies, surveillance, control, prohibitions and subjection. The spectator's participation in the work adds to its contemplation. For the 10th

Havana Biennial The Bienal de La Habana was founded in 1984. It takes place in Havana (Cuba) every two years. It principally aims at promoting the developing world in contemporary art circles, giving priority to Latin American and Caribbean artists, although art ...

(March 27 – April 30, 2009), Arrechea worked on a project named La habitación de todos (The Room of All), which is a sculpture of a house that expands or contracts according to, respectively, the rise or fall of the

Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...

. More recently he has worked on a public art project in New York City, involving video projections on buildings. His work will be showcased in the upcoming Venice Biennale.

References

Alexandre Arrechea interview on Havana-Cultura

External links

Official website

Alexandre Arrechea
at

Kadist Art Foundation Kadist is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts organization with an international contemporary art collection. In addition to being a collecting body, Kadist hosts artists residencies and produces exhibitions, publications, and public events. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrechea, Alexandre Cuban contemporary artists Cuban painters Cuban people of Basque descent 1970 births Living people Instituto Superior de Arte alumni