ALVARO BARRINGTON

Opening immediately following Notting Hill Carnival (27-28 August 2023)–during which Barrington will present a number of collaborative projects (see notes)–Grandma’s Land will bring together new works conceived for the project that expand on the region’s traditions, alongside several made for this year’s Carnival. These encompass a range of media, including painting, drawing, wallpaper, installation and for the first time video. Throughout, Barrington uses traditional and non-traditional materials, such as timber and burlap, that speak to the ubiquitous materials used for housing structures in the Caribbean region; mirroring his enduring concern for how different medias can function as a visual tool and exist as a richly layered signifier of cultural and political histories.

As part of the exhibition, Barrington has invited his peer artists whose own diverse practices likewise pay homage to the Caribbean, its diaspora and Carnival culture to participate in the show. Two of the three structures will host works by artists Sonia Gomes and Paul Anthony Smith, creating a richly textured environment; reflecting the essence of collaboration at the centre of his practice.

Alvaro Barrington (b. 1983, Caracas, Venezuela) studied at Hunter College in New York (2010-2013) and graduated with an MFA in painting from the Slade School of Art in 2017. Following his graduation, Barrington presented his first solo exhibition at MoMA PS1, curated by Klaus Biesenbach, for which his London studio was re-installed in its entirety at the institution (2017). Recent solo exhibitions include Spider the Pig, Pig the Spider, South London Gallery, London (2021); Wave Your Flags II, Sadie Coles HQ, London (2021); Wave Your Flags, The Tabernacle, London (2021); GARVEY: SEX LOVE NURTURING FAMALAY, Sadie Coles HQ, London and Tt X AB, Emalin, London (both 2019). He has been included in group exhibitions including Drawing Biennial 2021, Drawing Room and Cromwell Place, London (2021); 100 Drawings From Now, The Drawing Center, New York (2020); No horizon, no edge to liquid, Zabludowicz Collection, London (2020); Artists I steal from at Thaddeus Ropac, London, which he curated alongside Julia Peyton Jones, (2019); Der Lauf der Dinge (The Way Things Run Part), 1: Loose Ends Don’t Tie, PS120, Berlin (2018); Widening the Gaze, Slade Research Centre, London (2018) and The Sleeping Procession, Cass Sculpture Foundation, West Sussex, England (2017). In Spring 2024, Barrington will create the Tate Britain Commission, a prestigious annual exhibition inviting artists to make a new work in response to Tate’s Collection.