Wilfredo Prieto
04 Oct - 24 Nov 2007
Wilfredo Prieto
04.10.07 - 24.11.07
NoguerasBlanchard presents Wilfredo Prieto ́s second solo exhibition in the gallery. Prieto ́s installation s/t (alfombra roja) is comprised of a red carpet laid out in a straight line, which runs down the length of gallery.
Prieto’ critical position results from the discrete modification of everyday objects such as plants, glasses or ventilators. These subtle interventions are so minimal that they result in a mimetic image where the artistic gesture is imperceptible. As noted by Cuauhtémoc Medina: “Prieto is an artist who seeks a state of reflection through deception, by altering objects and situations to the point of denaturalization. His work is frequently based on calculated manipulation that tests our readiness to accept the mundane as an aesthetic standard. Prieto always introduces in his projects a moment of enigmatic artificiality, where the ordinary is a disguise to induce aesthetic, cultural or political uncertainty.”
In s/t (alfombra roja) the viewer discovers by chance, if he should attempt to lift the carpet, that underneath it lie piles of dust and debris. This intervention shifts the frame of reference and transgresses the dimension of the gallery space; it is a moment of seeking the unexpected, when the work ceases to be tangible and turns into something hidden, to be discovered. In this way, Prieto adopts a position on “non-intervention” and reafirms his usual artistic practice: “I work with the possibility of the art work as camouflage, that found artwork. I perecive it as the task of an archaeologist or as a gatherer, who comes accross a ready made work or who finds meanings in reality. As an artist I make the least operation possible and I try to be careful when it comes to placing a work in a context that has been designated to read art”.
S7t (alfombra roja) also carries a specific awe as a visual symbol for power, as it ́s associated with the special treatment offered to dignitaries or celebrities. Highly concerned with the creation of value, Prieto has often dealt with luxury items, such as diamonds, a gold watch, a Mont Blanc pen or a leather couch. Abstracted and removed from their social and aesthetic context, these highly aesthetisized works combine the attraction of illusion and the fascination with power structures. Through his minimal perversions, Prieto offers a mirror image of life itself.
Wilfredo Prieto (Havana, 1978) lives in Barcelona and Havana.
His solo exhibitions include: Artists ́ Web Projects, Dia Art Foundation, New York (2007); Kadist Art Foundation, Paris (2006); Mute, McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton, Canada (2006); Laboratorio 987, MUSAC, Leon (2006). Group exhibitions: Territorios, Pabellón Italo-Americano, 52 Venice Biennale (2007); Cintas Foundation Award Finalists, Frost Art Museum, Miami (2007); Errore di Sistema, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena (2007); 1a Singapore Biennial (2006); Madrid Abierto, Madrid (2006); The Hours, Irish Musum of Modern Art (2005); Cordially Invited, 7 episodes on exchanging Europe, BAK, Utrecht (2004) and the VII Havana Biennial (2004).Future projects include a solo exhibition at SMAK, Gent, Belgium (2008).
04.10.07 - 24.11.07
NoguerasBlanchard presents Wilfredo Prieto ́s second solo exhibition in the gallery. Prieto ́s installation s/t (alfombra roja) is comprised of a red carpet laid out in a straight line, which runs down the length of gallery.
Prieto’ critical position results from the discrete modification of everyday objects such as plants, glasses or ventilators. These subtle interventions are so minimal that they result in a mimetic image where the artistic gesture is imperceptible. As noted by Cuauhtémoc Medina: “Prieto is an artist who seeks a state of reflection through deception, by altering objects and situations to the point of denaturalization. His work is frequently based on calculated manipulation that tests our readiness to accept the mundane as an aesthetic standard. Prieto always introduces in his projects a moment of enigmatic artificiality, where the ordinary is a disguise to induce aesthetic, cultural or political uncertainty.”
In s/t (alfombra roja) the viewer discovers by chance, if he should attempt to lift the carpet, that underneath it lie piles of dust and debris. This intervention shifts the frame of reference and transgresses the dimension of the gallery space; it is a moment of seeking the unexpected, when the work ceases to be tangible and turns into something hidden, to be discovered. In this way, Prieto adopts a position on “non-intervention” and reafirms his usual artistic practice: “I work with the possibility of the art work as camouflage, that found artwork. I perecive it as the task of an archaeologist or as a gatherer, who comes accross a ready made work or who finds meanings in reality. As an artist I make the least operation possible and I try to be careful when it comes to placing a work in a context that has been designated to read art”.
S7t (alfombra roja) also carries a specific awe as a visual symbol for power, as it ́s associated with the special treatment offered to dignitaries or celebrities. Highly concerned with the creation of value, Prieto has often dealt with luxury items, such as diamonds, a gold watch, a Mont Blanc pen or a leather couch. Abstracted and removed from their social and aesthetic context, these highly aesthetisized works combine the attraction of illusion and the fascination with power structures. Through his minimal perversions, Prieto offers a mirror image of life itself.
Wilfredo Prieto (Havana, 1978) lives in Barcelona and Havana.
His solo exhibitions include: Artists ́ Web Projects, Dia Art Foundation, New York (2007); Kadist Art Foundation, Paris (2006); Mute, McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton, Canada (2006); Laboratorio 987, MUSAC, Leon (2006). Group exhibitions: Territorios, Pabellón Italo-Americano, 52 Venice Biennale (2007); Cintas Foundation Award Finalists, Frost Art Museum, Miami (2007); Errore di Sistema, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena (2007); 1a Singapore Biennial (2006); Madrid Abierto, Madrid (2006); The Hours, Irish Musum of Modern Art (2005); Cordially Invited, 7 episodes on exchanging Europe, BAK, Utrecht (2004) and the VII Havana Biennial (2004).Future projects include a solo exhibition at SMAK, Gent, Belgium (2008).