Alexandre Arrechea

Alexandre Arrechea is a Cuban visual artist whose repertoire explores concepts of power and its network of hierarchies, surveillance, control, prohibition, and subjection.

Biography of Alexandre Arrechea

Alexandre Arrechea was born in 1970 in Trinidad, Cuba. He completed his studies at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana in 1994.

Arrechea gained recognition through his involvement in the art collective Los Carpinteros, alongside Marco Antonio Castillo Valdés and Dagoberto Rodríguez Sánchez. Formed in 1994, the group quickly achieved widespread success under their collective name.

In July 2003, he opted to part ways with Los Carpinteros and embark on a solo career. His first solo endeavor, "El Jardín de la Desconfianza" (The Garden of Mistrust), was an ambitious installation in Los Angeles, spanning two years of meticulous work from 2003 to 2005.

Arrechea's recent solo exhibitions include "Landscape and Hierarchies" at Art Yard in Frenchtown (2022), "Orange Functional" at Art Omi in New York (2022), "Dreaming with Lions" at Faena Hotel in Miami (2020), "Superfícies em conflito" at Nara Roesler in Rio de Janeiro (2019), and "Corners" at Nara Roesler in New York City (2019).

Furthermore, Arrechea's works have been featured in numerous group exhibitions held at various galleries and museums worldwide, such as The Cooper Gallery in Cambridge, Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation, in New York, Casado-Santapau Gallery in Madrid, Miles McEnery Gallery in New York, Museum of Latin-American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, among other esteemed venues.

Currently, the artist lives and works in New York.

Alexandre Arrechea's Art Style

After leaving Los Carpinteros, Arrechea shifted his focus towards addressing contemporary political issues more directly, placing his keen sensibility and attention to contemporary culture at the forefront of his artistic endeavors.

Arrechea's work is noteworthy for its interdisciplinary and inclusive approach, frequently crafting large-scale installation pieces showcased in museums or commissioned for public spaces. These works invite viewers to actively participate and physically interact with the art.

The artist also fosters a more traditional mode of contemplation through his sculptures or graphite and watercolor works on paper. Regardless of the medium, his production intricately weaves with the space or context it inhabits, consistently reflecting a concern for the socio-political environment in which the work is situated.

Arrechea's work navigates the space between the individual and the collective, straddling the realms of the public and the private. Through this exploration, the artist explores social norms and collective behaviors, tackling issues of socio-economics, race, and urbanism to comprehend both personal identities and collective experiences.