Ricardo Brey
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Biography
Ricardo Brey (b.1955) was born in Havana, Cuba and has lived and worked in Ghent, Belgium since1990. From the late 1970s onward, Brey’s practice, which spans drawing, sculpture, and installation, has focused on his research into the origins of humanity and humankind’s place in the world.
A child during the Cuban Revolution, Brey was educated at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas San Alejandro (1970–1974) and the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana (1974–1978), at the time the best art school in Cuba. After graduating, he joined a dynamic artistic scene in Havana that included Cuban and international artists who were committed to advancing artistic practice in Cuba. Brey worked briefly as an illustrator and graphic designer before exhibiting in the landmark 1981 group show Volumen I at the Centro de Arte Internacional in Havana.
Volumen I brought Brey widespread critical attention and ultimately provided him with the opportunity to travel and exhibit internationally. As the 1980s progressed, he continued to refine his interest in history and myth. Mining both the legacies of colonialism in Latin America and Afro-Cuban traditions, Brey produced a rich body of work that ranged from faux historical documents drafted by explorers and naturalists to Santería-influenced sculptures and installations. In 1992, at the invitation of the Belgian curator Jan Hoet, he participated in Documenta IX—the first Cuban artist to do so. Brey’s installation for Documenta consisted of a series of objects, including old Venetian blinds, mattresses, panes of glass, and an electric fan, and represented a new stage in his artistic development. Moving away from the handmade Afro-Cuban objects that typified his late 1980s work, Brey began to create his own hybrid transcultural myths through the juxtaposition of disparate readymades.
During the 1990s, Ricardo Brey continued to refine this approach to sculpture and installation, harnessing the associative potential of objects to suggest a narrative. For example, Brey used tires to construct installations that serve as meditations on transience and exile—the tires’ forms referencing the tire rafts built by Cuban refugees to cross the Florida Strait. Since 2000, Brey has experimented with vitrine installations, producing works like Universe (2002–2006), consisting of 1,004 drawings illustrating an “entire” universe—including every bird, fish, insect, and plant—its supplement Annex (2003–2016), and the ongoing series Every life is a fire, intricate boxes that unfold to reveal books, drawings, sculptures, and performative proposals. These recent works, like Brey’s earlier fantastical historical documents, reveal the artist’s decades-long inquiry into how humans understand and categorize reality and themselves. As Brey states, “What fascinates me is the origin of the human race, our culture and our society. It is from the relationship between different life forms and between the communities of earlier and today that we can deduce the state of the present world. We can learn from our evolutionary past and thus consider our current condition critically. From a global approach man can emphasize the underlying connection between everything around us.”
Brey’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including Gap in the Clouds, MuseumHof van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium (2022); Adrift, Gerhard-Marcks-Haus, Bremen, Germany and Museum De Domijnen, Sittard, the Netherlands (2019); Fuel to the Fire, Museum van HedendaagseKunst Antwerpen (M HKA), Antwerp, Belgium (2015); BREY, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de LaHabana, Cuba (2014); Universe, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK), Ghent, Belgium (2006–2007); Ricardo Brey, Hanging around, GEM, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Hague, the Netherlands (2004); Sources, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Crestet, France (2000); Kunstverein Salzburg,Austria (1997); Galleria Civica, Palazzina dei Giardini, Comune di Modena, Italy (1996); Vereniging voorhet Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Ghent, Belgium (1993); and El Origin de las Especies, MuseoNacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba (1981). He has also participated in many group shows,including Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY (2022); traveled to Phoenix Art Museum, AZ and Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, FL (both 2023); 56th Venice Biennale, All the World’s Futures, curated by Okwui Enwezor (2015); Artesur, Collective Fictions, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2013); Trattenendosi at the 48th Venice Biennale, Italy (1999);Universalis at the23rd São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (1996); Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany (1992); and Volumen I, CentroInternacional de Arte de La Habana, Cuba (1981). He is the recipient of many awards and grants,including the Prize for Visual Arts from the Flemish Ministry of Culture (1998) and a GuggenheimFellowship for Sculpture and Installation (1997). Brey’s work is featured in global public and privatecollections, including theBouwfonds Art Collection, The Hague, the Netherlands; Centre Pompidou,Paris, France;Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba;CERA Art Collection,Leuven, Belgium; Collection of Pieter and Marieke Sanders, Haarlem, the Netherlands; Collection de laProvince de Hainaut, Belgium; de la Cruz Collection, Miami, FL; Fonds national d’art contemporain(FNAC), France; Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, Miami, FL; Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany; Louis-Dreyfus FamilyCollection, Mount Kisco, NY;Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Havana,Cuba; Museum de Domijnen, Sittard, the Netherlands; Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen(M HKA), Belgium; Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, FL; Province ofEast Flanders Monuments and Cultural Heritage, Belgium; Sindika Dokolo Foundation, Luanda,Angola; Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK), Ghent, Belgium;Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum,Aachen, Germany; Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, and others.
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Exhibitions
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Ricardo Brey
Every Life is a Fire 4 November 2022 - 21 January 2023 GermantownAlexander Gray Associates, Germantown presents Ricardo Brey: Every Life is a Fire. The artist’s first exhibition at the Gallery’s Hudson Valley location, this focused presentation highlights three works from the...Read more -
"A sheet of paper casts a shadow."
16 September - 30 October 2022 GermantownAlexander Gray Associates, Germantown presents 'A sheet of paper casts a shadow.” This group exhibition features a selection of works on paper by six Gallery artists, Ricardo Brey, Luis Camnitzer,...Read more -
Ricardo Brey
Blue Shore 4 November - 18 December 2021 New YorkAlexander Gray Associates presents Blue Shore, the Gallery’s second one-person exhibition of work by Ricardo Brey (b.1955, Cuba). Since the late 1970s, Brey’s practice has examined the origins and nature...Read more -
South South
26 February - 11 April 2021 GermantownAlexander Gray Associates, Germantown presents South South, an exhibition that examines poetics of space and orientation in works by five Gallery artists: Ricardo Brey, Luis Camnitzer, Melvin Edwards, Regina Silveira,...Read more -
Ricardo Brey
Chinese Purple 5 October - 17 November 2019 GermantownAlder & Co., 222 Main Street, Germantown NY 12526 Hours: Friday – Sunday 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM Inviting performative engagement by unclasping the four walls of the box and...Read more -
Ricardo Brey
Doble Existencia / Double Existence 28 February - 6 April 2019 New YorkAlexander Gray Associates presented its first exhibition of work by Ricardo Brey (b. 1955), Doble Existencia / Double Existence. Born in Havana, Cuba, Brey has lived and worked in Ghent,...Read more
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Public Collections
Bouwfonds Art Collection, The Hague, the Netherlands
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba
Collection de la Province de Hainaut, Belgium
Conscience Building, Ministry of the Flemish Community, Brussels, Belgium
Fonds national d’art contemporain (FNAC), France
Lenbachhaus Museum, Munich, Germany
Mondrian Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Havana, Cuba
Museum de Domijnen, Sittard, the Netherlands
Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (M HKA), Antwerp, Belgium
Nova Southern University (NSU) Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, FL
Province of East Flanders Monuments and Cultural Heritage, Belgium
Sindika Dokolo Foundation, Luanda, Angola
Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK), Ghent, Belgium
Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, Germany
Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands -
Videos
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Ricardo Brey on "Gap in the Clouds"
Museum Hof van Busleyden 15 June 2022Through Gap in the Clouds Ricardo Brey makes a positive statement and gives a ray of hope in these turbulent times. Brey was inspired to...Watch -
Ricardo Brey – Adrift
Gerhard-Marcks-Haus Bremen 2 December 2019Die Kunst des Bildhauers und Zeichners Ricardo Brey (geb. 1955) wirkt bisweilen rätselhaft, dann aber auch wieder eigentümlich vertraut. In seinen poetischen, ideenreichen Assemblagen konzentriert...Watch -
Ricardo Brey – Fuel to the Fire
ARTtube 13 November 2015Ricardo Brey (born in the Cuban capital, Havana, in 1955) is an exceptional artist and person with an international reputation and an extremely varied oeuvre....Watch
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News / Events
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Ricardo Brey
Motel Corona Resilience Acquisitions by the Flemish Community at the SMAK - Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art May 27–November 3, 2023Ricardo Brey is included in the group exhibition, Motel Corona Resilience Acquisitions by the Flemish Community at the SMAK - Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent, Belgium.
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Ricardo Brey, Luis Camnitzer, and Melvin Edwards
Juan Francisco Elso: Por América at the Phoenix Art Museum May 6–September 17, 2023Ricardo Brey, Luis Camnitzer, Melvin Edwards, and Lorraine O’Grady are included in the group exhibition Juan Francisco Elso: Por América organized by El Museo de Barrio and curated by Olga Viso travels to the Phoenix Art Museum.
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Ricardo Brey
Common Ground at Keteleer Gallery March 4–May 6, 2023Ricardo Brey is included in the duo exhibition Common Ground with Lois Weinberger at Keteleer Gallery in Antwerp, Belgium.
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Ricardo Brey, Luis Camnitzer, and Melvin Edwards
Juan Francisco Elso: Por América at El Museo del Barrio October 27, 2022–March 26, 2023Ricardo Brey, Luis Camnitzer, Melvin Edwards, and Lorraine O’Grady included in the group exhibition Juan Francisco Elso: Por América curated by Olga Viso at El Museo del Barrio, New York.
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Ricardo Brey
Gap in the Clouds at Museum Hof van Busleyden and De Garage May 20–August 28, 2022Ricardo Brey's one-person exhibition Gap in the Clouds at the Museum Hof van Busleyden and De Garage in Mechelen, Belgium.
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Ricardo Brey
Elsewhere(s): Other worlds, other times, other territories at ANOTHER SPACE March 21–June 17, 2022Ricardo Brey included in the group exhibition Elsewhere(s): Other worlds, other times, other territories at ANOTHER SPACE, New York.
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Ricardo Brey
Le Tour du Jour en Quatre-Vingts Mondes (Around the Day in Eighty Worlds) at Musée d'Art Contemporain de Bordeaux December 15, 2020–December 11, 2022Ricardo Brey included in the group exhibition Le Tour du Jour en Quatre-Vingts Mondes (Around the Day in Eighty Worlds) at Contemporary Art Museum of Bordeaux, France.
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Articles / Reviews
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Isolde Brielmaier’s Top 5 Picks from Frieze New York Viewing Room 2024
Frieze24 April 2024 The Deputy Director of the New Museum selects a photograph by Stephen Shore which transforms the everyday, a bold and... Read more -
Ricardo Brey transforms old into contemporary art
De Tijd4 June 2022 In the 'Gap in the clouds' exhibition in the Hof van Busleyden Museum in Mechelen, Cuban artist Ricardo Brey shows... Read more -
Ghent artist Ricardo Brey goes to Mechelen for an exhibition full of optimism: “I want to bring a sign of hope”
Gazet van Antwerpen19 May 2022 When you walk into the exhibition space of Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen, the color blue overwhelms you. “It's... Read more -
There is always a gap in the clouds: Ricardo Brey makes a hopeful exhibition for Hof van Busleyden
Het Laatste Nieuws19 May 2022 The artist with studio in Ghent wants to tell a positive story after the pandemic and protests for racial and... Read more -
PRESENTATION: Ricardo Brey - Blue Shore
Dream Idea Machine8 November 2021 Since the late 1970s, Ricardo Brey’s practice has focused on his research into the origins of humanity and humankind’s place... Read more -
How Artists Have Paid Homage to the Bicycle
Hyperallergic30 June 2021 “Modernism — and modern art — would never exist without bicycles.” That’s the claim made by a new group exhibition... Read more -
Interview with Ricardo Brey
Hilde Van Canneyt22 February 2021 Let’s start in the atelier. So we are here in the middle of the atelier. How does your day start?In... Read more -
Dealers Report Robust Sales for Top-Dollar Works at Virtual Art Basel Fair as Art World Migrates Online
ARTnews17 June 2020 In early February, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancelation of Art Basel Hong Kong, it still seemed likely that... Read more -
Ricardo Brey: Doble Existencia / Double Existence
The Brooklyn Rail27 March 2019 Ricardo Brey, born in Havana, is an Afro-Cuban artist working since 1990 in Ghent, Belgium. His show, Doble Existencia /... Read more -
Ricardo Brey
Artforum23 March 2019 Ricardo Brey’s exhibition here, “Doble Existencia / Double Existence,” bridges the gulf between language and materials through a kind of... Read more -
ART-PRESENTATION: Ricardo Brey - Doble Existencia
Dream Idea Machine1 March 2019 From the late 1970s onwards, Ricardo Brey’s practice, which spans drawing, sculpture, and installation, has focused on his research into... Read more -
9 Art Events in New York This Week: Purvis Young, Alice Neel, Ricardo Brey, and More
ARTnews25 February 2019 Opening: Ricardo Brey at Alexander Gray Associates Ricardo Brey is best known for his assemblages of diverse materials, and... Read more -
Havana to New York: A Week of Openings & Events
Cuban Art News20 February 2019 Cuba makes a splash in New York this week, with three new exhibitions and a MoMA screening. Next Thursday:... Read more -
Ricardo Brey
Artforum5 April 2017 Ricardo Brey’s recent exhibition, “All that is could be otherwise,” comprised mainly recent collages on drawings and photographs, but its... Read more -
Ricardo Brey, the alchemist
El Cultural20 March 2015 While waiting for his participation in the upcoming Venice Biennale, Ricardo Brey, one of the undisputed figures of Cuban art... Read more -
Ricardo Brey, Crestet Art Centre
ArtNexus1 May 2001 The Cuban artist Ricardo Brey, who has lived in the Belgian city of Ghent since 1991, was invited by the... Read more
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