ELIZABET CERVINO

These manipulated surfaces begin to take on a different life form. The land becomes its own architectural structure that oscillates between the natural and superficial. An uncanny landscape of nature in dialogue with industrialisation. Mountains and rocky virgin lands become sharply cut benches reminiscent of ruins of mythical proportions with colours and shapes that develop their own language. They are storytellers of what lies beneath the soil and the source material for what we build and distantly call our environment, but they are also a direct link to who we are as humans.

In Opencast, Cuban artist Elizabet Cerviño applies this juxtaposition to create a body of work that does not look to exploit nature but rather commune with it. It is not simply about the content of the work but rather the conceptual aesthetic and material approach she applies. Through processes like oxidation; use of virgin linens; rust, and copper; along with the overlaying and mixing of colours, she creates and provides a transcendental and poetic lens to human nature and our relationship to our environment. This exhibition presents works that force us to confront preconceived notions and our understanding of darkness and light, and with this, Cerviño is not pessimistic but rather contemplative and caring in her interpretations through her minimalist approach. While it may seem contradictory to see

Elizabet Cerviño (b. 1986 in Manzanillo, Cuba) graduated from the Real Academia Española, Rome, Italy (2017) and has received recognition by Brever House, Rockefeller Center, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (2017); Unlimited, Brooklyn, New York, Cuban Arts Fundation and The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (2017); Finalist 1st Edition of the International Cuban Art Award, Young Artist of the Year Category, Farber Foundation. Cuba-USA (2015); Nominated for the 2nd Edition of the Maretti Award, Cuba-Italy (2014); Henry Moore Foundation, I’m Cold Project, Glasglow, Scotia. UK; among others. She has had solo exhibitions at Chasquidos, Pabellón Cuba, Havana (2019); Mónadas, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy (2018); Pausa, La Columnata, Callao, Perú (2017); among others. Her work has been part of collective exhibitions at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana; Pérez Art Museum, Miami, USA; Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfiel Hills, Detroit, Michigan, USA; Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana; Pabellón Cuba, Havana; Galleria Continua, Havana, Italy, France; Centro Hispanoamericano de Cultura, Havana; Norwegian Embassy in Cuba; Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, New York, USA; Odeon Foundation, Bogotá, Colombia; Green Gallery, Dubai; South South, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa; among others. Elizabet Cerviño lives and works between Havana, Cuba and Tampa, Florida.