Alexis Leyva (Kcho)
Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, 1970. Lives and works in Havana, Cuba.
Education and Professional Experience
1983-86 Elementary Art School of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud
1986-90 National School of Plastic Arts, Havana
Personal Exhibitions
2004 Art Chicago, Illinois, USA
Pocas palabras (Few Words). Museum of Contemporary Art of Zulia (MACZUL), Maracaibo, Venezuela
Estudio abierto (Open Study) Juan Ruiz Gallery, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Capacidad de asombro (Astonishment Capacity). Museum of Fine Arts, Caracas, Venezuela.
Ideas rojas, ideas negras (Red Ideas, Black Ideas). Spatium Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela
Núcleos del tiempo (Time Nuclei). Villa Manuela Gallery, UNEAC, Havana, Cuba
2003 Para olvidar (To Forget) (stage design for the concert by Santiago Feliú), National Theater, Havana, Cuba
A pocos metros del mar (A Few Meters Away from the Sea). Hotel Club Amigo Varadero, Varadero, Matanzas, Cuba
Archipiélago (Archipelago), Havana, Cuba
Archipiélago (Archipelago), Juan Ruiz Gallery, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Dibujos (Drawings), Gallery of Hotel Ambos Mundos, Havana, Cuba
Archipiélago (Archipelago), 8th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
Pocas palabras (Few Words), performance, 8th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
2002 La Jungla (The Jungle). Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Turin, Italy.
El Huracán (The Hurricane) Museum of Sculpture, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Kcho, Marthas Son. José Martí Memorial, Havana, Cuba
Una piedra en mi camino (A Stone in My Way). National Museum of Prints, Museo Nacional de la Estampa, Mexico City
Los peligros del olvido (The Dangers of Oblivion). Gabriela Mistral Gallery, Santiago de Chile
Art Cologne 2002. Joan Guaita Art Gallery, Germany
Artíssima 2002. Joan Guaita Art Gallery, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2001 Para Olvidar (To Forget).Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Kcho. Drawings. 106 Gallery, Austin, Texas, USA
En el mar no hay nada escrito (There is Nothing Written in the Sea). Havana Club Foundation Gallery, Havana, Cuba
25 piedras (25 Stones). Lithograph exhibition. Encuentro del Grabado, 2001, Experimental Graphics Workshop, Havana, Cuba.
El dibujo es el soporte de la idea (Drawing is the Support of the Idea). Pequeño Espacio Gallery, National Council of Plastic Arts, Havana, Cuba
Kcho, Joan Guaita Art Gallery, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
En el mar no hay nada escrito (There is Nothing Written in the Sea). Drawings and lithographs. Martha Machado Gallery, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
La Jungla (The Jungle). National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
2000 No me agradezcan el silencio (Dont Thank Me for the Silence), Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba
La columna infinita (The Infinite Column), National Museum Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain.
Klendario (Ka-lendar), Joan Guaita Art Gallery, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Kcho, André Viana Gallery, Oporto, Portugal
Para olvidar (To Forget), Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, 7th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
Kcho. Drawings. Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA
Instalaciones (Installations), Tel Aviv, Israel
1999 C.C.C., Tours, France
1998 Archipiélago de mi pensamiento (Archipelago of my Thoughts), American Series, I Kcho, Galerie Nationale du Jeu De Paume, París, France, catalogue Studio Guenzani, Milan, Italy
Largo viaje (Long Journey), GAN Gallery Tokyo, Japan
1997 Todo cambia (Everything Changes). Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California, USA
Speaking of the Obvious Was Never a Pleasure for Us (Hablar de lo evidente nunca fue para nosotros un placer), the Israel Museum, Billy Rose Pavilion, Jerusalem
Kcho, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, California, USA
1996 Kcho, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA
Kcho. Guenzani Studio, Milan, Italy.
Para olvidar (To Forget), Les Cent Jours dArt Contemporain de Montréal, International Center for Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada
1995 Kcho, Pilar i Joan Miró Foundation, Mallorca, Spain
No juego (Im Not Playing). Wifredo Lam Center Havana, Cuba
El camino de la nostalgia (The Road of Nostalgia), Wifredo Lam Center, Havana, Cuba
Tabla de salvación (Last Hope), Espacio Abierto Gallery, Havana, Cuba
1994 Buscando el Parecido (Searching the Resemblance), Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba
1993 Kcho, dibujos y esculturas (Kcho, Drawings and Sculptures), Plaza Vieja Gallery, Cuban Fund of Cultural Goods, Havana, Cuba.
Dentro de la Patria (Inside the Fatherland), Contemporary Art Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
1992 Artist of the Month, National Museum, Palace of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
1991 Paisaje popular cubano (Popular Cuban Landscape), 23 and 12 Cultural Center, 4th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
1990 Paisaje popular cubano (Popular Cuban Landscape), Gallery of the National School of Plastic Arts, Havana, Cuba
1986 Kcho expone fabelas (Kcho Exhibits Fabelas), Plastic Arts Center of Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
Collective Exhibitions and Events
2004 Art Miami, Palm Beach, Miami, USA
Fair of the Americas, Miami, USA
Iberian American Art Fair, Caracas, Venezuela
Del lobo un pelo, La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba
Luces y sombras (Lights and Shadows). Fifth Anniversary of Habana Radio, Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, Havana, Cuba
MoMA at the Museo del Barrio: Latin American and Caribbean Art. (Drawing “In the Eyes of History”). Museo del Barrio, New York, USA
Cita con ángeles (Meeting with Angels). “José Martí” Memorial, Havana, Cuba
Latin American Art Auction. Christies, New York, USA
Cuatro artistas cubanos (Four Cuban Artists) Spanish Cultural Center, San José, Costa Rica
Openasia 2004, Lido, Venice, Italy
2003 Arco 2003, Madrid, Spain
Art Miami, Palm Beach, Miami, USA
Inauguration of Hotel Playa Pesquero, Holguín, Cuba
Inauguración of the Chapel of Humankind, Guayasamín project, Quito, Ecuador
Habano Festival Auction, El Laguito, Havana, Cuba
Collateral exhibition to the Habano Festival. International Convention Center Palacio de las Convenciones, Havana, Cuba
Sentido común (Common Sense), Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba
Group exhibition on the occasion of the First World Domino Championship, Plaza Vieja, Havana, Cuba
Últimas tendencias del arte contemporáneo cubano (Latest trends of contemporary Cuban Art). Third International Congress on Culture and Development, Palacio de Convenciones, Havana, Cuba
Gráfica Contemporánea Cubana (Contemporary Cuban Graphics), House of Latin America Foundation, Budapest, Hungary
Plástica Cubana Contemporánea (Contemporary Cuban Plastic Art), La Siempre Habana Graphics Workshop, UNAM, Mexico City
100 artistas con AVAM (One-hundred Artists with AVAM), Extraordinary Auction of Contemporary Art. Columbus Hall of the Genoa Financial Club, Madrid, Spain.
Cuban Painting Today. Guayasamín Foundation, Quito, Ecuador. (Together with Ernesto Rancaño)
Sample Fair of Contemporary Art, Mexico City
Lo que ves no es todo lo que hay (What You See Is Not Everything). Habana Gallery, México
Exposición de grabados cubanos (Exhibition of Cuban Prints). ABN AMRO House Gallery, Penang, Malaysia
31 artistas cubanos contemporáneos en Chile (31 Contemporary Cuban Artists in Chile). Borde Río Gallery, Santiago, Chile
Feria de Arte Abordable de New York (Art on Board Fair of New York), Pier 92, New York, USA
Islas imaginarias (Imaginary Islands). Contemporary Latin American Art Museum of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Blanco y Negro (Black and White). Pan American Gallery, Dallas, Texas, USA
I Colectiva Anual de Arte Latinoamericano (First Annual Group Exhibition of Latin American Art) “Entre la magia y la realidad” (Between Magic and Reality) Spativm Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela
Cada niño salvado es una obra maestra (Each Child We Save is a Masterpiece). Humanitarian auction of contemporary Cuban art. Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba
Subastahabana. Club Habana, Havana, Cuba
Christies Latin American Art Art Auction. New York, USA
Sothebys Latin American Art Art Auction. New York, USA
2002 Arco 2002, Madrid, Spain
Art Miami, Palm Beach, Miami, USA
Suite Europa 2002, traveling portfolio prepared by the General Division of the State Secretariat for International Cooperation and for Iberian America, Ministry of External Affairs, Madrid, Spain. Havana, Cuba.
Estructuras similares a los ojos de la historia (Structures Similar to the Eyes of History), exhibition Atravesados, Telefónica Foundation of Madrid, Spain
Islas imaginarias (Imaginary Islands). Contemporary Latin American Art. Museum of Contemporary Art of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Installation project. Contemporary Cuban Painting in ETECSA telephone cards. Lower Basílica of the Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, Havana, Cuba
Kcho invites…, Instituto of Medical Sciences Victoria de Girón, Havana, Cuba
¡Qué joven es mi equipo de pelota! (How Young is My Baseball Team!) Latin American Baseball Stadium, Havana, Cuba
Subastahabana, Club Habana, Havana, Cuba
2001 Arco 2001, Madrid, Spain
Exhibition of Ten Cuban Printers. Provincial Foundation of Plastic Arts Rafael Botí, Córdova County Council, Spain
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia. Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, USA
Estructuras similares a los ojos de la historia (Structures Similar to the Eyes of History). First Valencia Biennial, Spain
Odissee dell Arte, Museo Revoltella, Triest, Italy
Klder (drawing). Exhibition Casi todo, la noche y lo demás (Almost Everything, the Night and the Rest), III Bienal Identidad (Third Biennial of Identity), Casa de la Poesía, Havana, Cuba
Art Miami, Palm Beach, Miami, USA
Iberian American Art Fair, Caracas, Venezuela
Suceden los espejos (Mirrors Happen), José Martí Memorial, Havana, Cuba
IV Bienal del Caribe (Fourth Biennial from the Caribbean), Museum of Modern Art, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Art Paris, France
Art Cologne, Germany
Caleidoscopio (Kaleidoscope), National Theater, Havana, Cuba
EICTV: Toma 15. Pintura cubana: ¡Acción! (EICTV: Take 15. Cuban Painting: Action!) Hotel Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba
Visiones de la Caridad (Visions of Charity). Museum of the Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Estructuras similares a los ojos de la historia (Structures Similar to the Eyes of History). Tent Centrum Belldende Kunst, Rotterdam, Holland
Suite Europa 2002, traveling portfolio prepared by the General Division of the State Secretariat for International Cooperation and for Iberian America, Ministry of External Affairs, Madrid, Spain. Havana, Cuba
2000 Arco 2000, Madrid, Spain
The Gift of Hope. Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Over the Edges, Smak, Gante, Belgium
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia. Grand Rapids Art Museum, Michigan, USA
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia. Museum of Latin American Art of Long Beach, California, USA
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia. Museum of Art of the University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
CODEMA 2000, Havana, Cuba
Song of the Earth Biennials in Dialogue, Museum Fridericianum Kassel, Germany
Resistencias (Resistance), Koldo Mitxelena, Donostia, San Sebastián, Spain
Art Miami, Palm Beach, Miami, USA
Iberian American Art Fair, Caracas, Venezuela
Artissima, Turin, Italy
Shanghai Art Fair, Shanghai, China
Diálogo entre isles (Dialogue Between Islands). Seventh Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
Noves Edicions d´Escultura, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
1999 Cuba, los mapas del deseo (1999 Cuba, the Maps of Desire). Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria
Arco 1999, Madrid, Spain
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia.Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, California
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia. Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia. Museum of Art of Austin, Texas, USA
Dapertutto. Aperto Overall, Venice Biennial, Italy
Kunstwelten im Dialog, Ludwig Museum, Germany
Encuentros (Meetings). Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, USA
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia, Museum of Art of the University of the State of Arizona, USA
La dirección de la Mirada (The Direction of the Glance), Stadthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Los campos de la escultura (The Fields of Sculpture), Champs Elysées, Paris, France
Studio Guenzani, Milan, Italy.
Art Miami, Palm Beach, Miami, USA
Feria Iberoamericana de Arte (Iberian American Art Fair), Caracas, Venezuela
SOFA, Chicago, USA
Pictores Fictoresque III, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
1998 Arco 1998, Madrid, Spain
Objetividad: objetos internacionales de subjetividad (Objectivity: International Objects of Subjectivity), Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, USA
Dak Art98, Biennial of Contemporary African Art, Senegal
Biennial Barro de América, Caracas, Venezuela
Contemporary Art from Cuba. Irony and Survival in the Island of Utopia. University of the State of Arizona, Tempe, USA
Crossings, National Gallery of Canada, catalogue, Ottawa, Canada
Cada día (Each Day). Eleventh Biennial of Sydney, Australia, catalogue
Global Vision of the New Art of the Nineties. Desde Foundation, Athens, Greece
Zone, Palazzo Re Rebaudengo, Guarene dAlba, Italy
La dirección de la mirada (The Direction of the Glance), Stadthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Escultures al Castell, Castell de Capdeperas, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Iberian American Art Fair, Caracas, Venezuela
Expoarte, Guadalajara, Mexico
1997 Ningún lugar (como en casa) (No Place Like Home) Walker Art Center, cataloguelogo, Minneapolis, USA.
Utopian Territories. New Art from Cuba. Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia and Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
TRUCE: Echoes of Art in the Age of the Infinite Conclusions, SITE Santa Fe, catalogue, Santa Fe, USA
Trash, Museo dArte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy
Así está la cosa: instalación y arte objeto en América Latina (Thats How Things Are: Installation and Object Art in Latin America), Centro Cultural de Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico, catalogue
Sixth Havana Biennial, Castillo del Morro, Havana, Cuba
1996 Interzones, Kunstforeningen DI. Strand, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Copenhague
De Rode Poort, Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Ghent, Belgium
Cuba 20th Century. Modernity and Syncretism. Atlantic Center of Modern Art, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Traveling to: La Caixa, Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Centre dArte Santa Monica, Barcelona; Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany.
Sin fronteras (Without Frontiers). Current Latin American Art, Venezuela
Container 96. Arte a través de los océanos (Art through the Oceans), Copenhague, Denmark
Inclusion-Exclusion, Reininghaus und Künstlerhaus Graz, Austria
1995 Istambul International Biennial, Turkey
Campo (Field), by Francesco Bonami, Fondazione Sandretto-Re Rebaudengo per lArte, Turin, Ital.
Itinerancia a Fondazione Sandretto-Re Rebaudengo per lArte, Venice, Italy
Kwang-Ju Biennial, Kwang-Ju, Korea
Nuestro siglo (Our Century), Ludwig Museum, Cologne, Germany
Diálogos de paz (Peace Dialogues), United Nations Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland
First Biennial of Johannesburg, South Africa
Havana-Sao Paulo, House of World Cultures, Berlin, Germany
Arte nuevo de Cuba (New Art from Cuba), Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, Great Britain
1994 Cocido y crudo (Boiled and Raw). National Museum Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain, catalogue
22nd Sao Paulo Biennial, Sao Paulo Biennial Foundation, Brazil
Kunst und Breminig, Stadt Stolberg, Kreis Aachen, Germany
V Bienal de Havana (selección), Forum Ludwig, Aachen, Germany.
La otra orilla (The Other Shore), 5th Havana Biennial, Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro, Havana, Cuba
Exhibition of Cuban artists invited to the 5th Havana Biennial. Wifredo Lam Center, Havana, Cuba
1993 OMI International Art Workshop, New York, USA
Cómprame y cuélgame (Buy Me and Hang Me). Development Center for the Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba
Permanent collection. Cultural Center of Contemporary Art, Televisa Cultural Foundation, Mexico City, Mexico
First International Print Biennial, Maastricht, Holland.
1992 La década prodigiosa (The Prodigious Decade). Cuban Plastic Arts from the Eighties. University Museum of Chopo, Mexico City, Mexico
Exhibition of Curitiba Prints, Curitiba, Brazil
Un marco por la tierra, Development Center for the Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba (traveling to Latin America until 1995)
First Clay Biennial of America. Museum of Contemporary Art Sofía Imber, Caracas, Venezuela
La ronda cubana (The Cuban Round). Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, Holland
Arte cubano actual (Contemporary Cuban Art), Cultural Center of Contemporary Art, Televisa Cultural Foundation, Mexico City, Mexico
Von dort aus: Kuba, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany
1991 CODEMA, Fourth Havana Biennial, international workshops of ephemeral sculpture
Los hijos de Guillermo Tell (The Sons of William Tell), Alejandro Otero Museum, Caracas,Venezuela
Luis Angel Arango Library, Bogotá, Colombia
23 and 12 Art Center, Havana, Cuba
National Salon of Professors of Art Schools. Provincial Center for Plastic Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba
1990 Second Landscape Salon90, Art Center, Guantánamo, Cuba
6th Municipal Salon of Plastic Arts, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
1989 Fifth Municipal Salon of Plastic Arts, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
Salon of Small Format Sculpture, Third Havana Biennial, La Madriguera Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
First Salon Juan Francisco Elso Padilla, La Madriguera Gallery, Havana, Cuba
Second Salon of Small Format, Universal Art Gallery, Camagüey, Cuba
1988 Expo Adokin, Casa del Joven Creador, Havana, Cuba
Fourth Salon of Plastic Arts, Art Gallery, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
1987 Salón Playa87, Servando Cabrera Moreno Art Gallery, Havana, Cuba
Exhibition of students from the National School of Plastic Arts (ENAP), Gallery of the ENAP, Havana, Cuba
Third Salon of Plastic Arts, Art Gallery, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
1986 Second Municipal Salon of Plastic Arts. Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
1985 First Salon of Plastic Arts. Art Gallery, Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba
Awards and Residencies
1990 Prize of the Hermanos Saíz Association, Municipal Salon of Plastic Arts and Design, Nueva Gerona, Isle of Youth, Cuba
1991 Prize of the National Salon of Professors of Art Schools, Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba
1992 Juror of the National Salon, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
1994 Scholarship of the Ludwig Foundation, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany
1995 Grand Prix of the First Kwang-Ju Biennial, Korea
UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of the Arts, Paris, France
1999 Atelier Calder residence, Saché, France
2001 Prize to the Cuban works sent to the 4th Biennial of the Caribbean. Museum of Modern Art, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Collections
National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
University of Computer Sciences (UCI), Havana, Cuba
Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA
MOCA, Los Angeles, California, USA
MOMA, New York, USA
University of the State of Arizona, USA
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA
Peter Norton private collection, California, USA
International Center of Contemporary Art, Canada
National Museum Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain
Fondo ARCO, Madrid, Spain
Fundación Pilar i Joan Miró, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Sandretto Re Rebaudengo per lArte, Turin, Italy
Civil Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Turin, Italy
Guenzani Studio, Milan, Italy
National Gallery de Jeu De Paume, Paris, France
Calder studio, Tours, France
Ludwig Foundation, Aachen, Germany
Ludwig Foundation, Cologne, Germany
Van Reekum Museum, Aperdoorn, Holland
Museum of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
Televisa Cultural Foundation, Mexico City, Mexico
Gan Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Kwang-Ju Museum, Korea
Gabriela Mistral Gallery, Santiago de Chile, Chile
William Larouche Foundation, Quebec, Canada.
