Ricardo Brey: Obatalá

Alexander Gray Associates, New York presents Ricardo Brey: Obatalá, the Gallery’s fourth solo exhibition of work by the Cuban-born artist. Taking its title from the Yoruba deity of human creation—the orisha, or spirit, associated with wisdom, peace, and justice—the show features recent sculptures alongside large-scale works on paper. Drawing on diverse visual traditions, these complementary bodies of work question the primacy of Western worldviews by centering belief systems of African diasporas. 

Having lived and worked in Ghent, Belgium since 1990, Brey’s transcultural perspective is distinctly personal. In the sculptures on view, he adorns contemporary plaster replicas of ancient Greek statues with found materials that invoke the hybridity of Afro-Caribbean religious worship, such as beads, shells, bottlecaps, rope, cloth, and artificial hair. Assemblages like Gorgona (2024) and Eshu (2023) conflate mythological figures from Western antiquity with deities central to the practice of Santería and other Yoruba faiths originating in West Africa. By merging these disparate traditions, Brey cultivates dialogues between contrasting belief systems. Also drawing upon the rich medieval and Baroque artistic heritage of his adopted home in Belgium, he emphasizes cross-cultural affinities that expose the mutability of the Western canon.

Brey’s drawings explore similar metaphysical themes from a more introspective point of view. His works on paper build on his longstanding interest in botanical imagery and the color blue, which he associates with the sky and sea—symbols of freedom and expansiveness. The vibrant palette of these compositions accentuates Brey’s delicate linework, which is offset by pattern-paper borders and expressively handwritten titles. From the brooding dark cerulean of works like Dawn and Twilight (2024) to the more lustrous cobalt of First Lights (2024), Brey captures the passage of light across a landscape, offering a meditative exploration of time and the divinity of nature.

Brey’s drawings’ palette derives from the pigments he collects around the world. His emphasis on sourcing natural pigments embodies the Afro-Caribbean ritual by which gathered earth can carry the energy or spirit of a specific place. Just as soil and other organic materials connect the natural to the supernatural in Santería rituals, Brey’s washes of pigment possess a transcendent power that invites reflection on humanity’s origins and identity. As he explains, “I articulate my art within the tradition of my cultural heritage not as a tradition keeper or as a folklore illustrator but rather as an innovator,” concluding, “tradition and contemporaneity meet each other and bring something new to life.”

Brey’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including Gap in the Clouds, Museum Hof 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 Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (M HKA), Antwerp, Belgium (2015); BREY, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba (2014); and Universe, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK), Ghent, Belgium (2006–2007). 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); and Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany (1992). Brey’s work is featured in global public and private collections, including the Bouwfonds Art Collection, The Hague, the Netherlands; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba; CERA Art Collection, Leuven, Belgium; de la Cruz Collection, Miami, FL; Fonds national d’art contemporain (FNAC), France; Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, Miami, FL; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba; Museum de Domijnen, Sittard, the Netherlands; Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (M HKA), Belgium; Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, FL; 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.