The burden and blessing of mortality
NICC. New International Cultural Center. Antwerp (BE)
Sept 6 - Oct 25, 2009
Ricardo Brey in conversation with Eva Wittocx
Sept 24, 2009 at 20u.
The work of Ricardo Brey (°1955, Havana, Cuba) focuses on a broad spectrum of topics. Themes such as the relation between nature and culture, the interaction between different cultures and religions, and issues of cultural identity are at the core of a body of work that is always moving towards new necessities and challenges.
Brey grew up in Havana and since 1991 lives and works in Ghent. He is an artist of international reputation who has had many solo exhibitions and participated in major international events such as Documenta IX in Kassel and the Biennales of Sao Paulo, Havana and Venice. In 1997 he received the Prize from the Flemish Ministry of Culture and a Fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation for Installation Art and Sculpture. In 2005 Ricardo Brey was selected by Cera as Artist of Reference within the project “Partners in Art”.
From 2002 onward Brey committed himself to two major projects : UNIVERSE , an installation of 1004 works on paper shown at S.M.A.K. , Ghent in 2006 and ANNEX. In both projects aspects, forms and mediums present in his work since the beginning join his most recent ideas, visions and approaches to art and contemporary reality.
ANNEX includes work on paper, sculptures, installations and videos:
“After fulfilling my commitment to finish the project UNIVERSE in 1004 drawings, the idea of a new project arose : ANNEX.
After six years of work, during which several times the new project seemed to come to a closure and reopened again, it has now become apparent that it is still running very actively.
It was a misjudgement to think that both projects had equal rules ; I intended to make ANNEX like UNIVERSE in which from the start everything was fixed, with a beginning and an end, a given number of works, and a specific form of presentation. The only uncertainty was the place where to exhibit UNIVERSE.
Like every human being I try to repeat the happiness of one experience; it was very important to me to realize that whereas I thought I had seen ANNEX as finished one day, I would find myself obliged to continue the project again the next month or year.
Now I am at peace with the fact that this project has grown in blocks of time with successive endings and rebirths ….”
“The Burden and Blessing of Mortality”, is one of the many faces of ANNEX, but it has also become a statement in its own right . Ricardo Brey does not pretend to demonstrate anything but just continues deepening the questions put by the human spirit in these technological and materialistic times, trying to close the circle and opening new ones.
Slideshow from the exhibition linked to Picasa web albums . Clic on the image.