Yoan Capote
Encyclopedia
Yoan Capote is a Cuban sculptor who was born in 1977 in Pinar del Río
. He received the UNESCO prize during the 7th Havana Biennial
with the artists' collective DUPP (Desde Una Pragmática Pedagógica).
where he studied arts at the Superior Institute of Art from 1991 to 1995. Even if he first specialized in painting, he finally decided to improve his sculpture skills, considering the latter as a way of developing three-dimensional and multi-sensory possibilities.
Yoan Capote is already recognized in the Cuban art circles - as a promising artist. His work, known to be “solid”, “irreverent”, “provocative”, and “non-conformist” – according to some art critics – deals principally with interactions between individuals and objects.
Yoan Capote follows the line of internationally-known artists Gabriel Orozco
or Damien Hirst
, working on sculptures and 3D installations such as Open Mind.
Open Mind is a labyrinth based on the drawing of the human brain where people can walk. People become metaphors for neurons transmitting information as they walk around the maze. This work inspires reflection on the interrelation among persons, who attempt to coexist with each other.
Yoan Capote often merges human organs with inanimate objects, rearranges the human body and reinvents the purpose of everyday life: the sculpture Nostalgia, which features an ordinary suitcase unzipped to reveal a wall of bricks, can be seen as a metaphor for nomadism and its limits, the wall of bricks standing for our own impediments we all carry with us wherever we go.
Currently, Yoan Capote designs everyday life furniture, using materials who usually belong to traditional art.
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is a city in Cuba. It is the capital of Pinar del Río Province.Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.Neighborhoods in the city include La Conchita, La Coloma, Briones Montoto and Las Ovas.-History:...
. He received the UNESCO prize during the 7th Havana Biennial
Havana biennial
The Havana Biennial Art Exhibition takes place in Havana every two years, and principally aims at promoting the « Third World » contemporary art...
with the artists' collective DUPP (Desde Una Pragmática Pedagógica).
Biography
Yoan Capote lives and works in HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
where he studied arts at the Superior Institute of Art from 1991 to 1995. Even if he first specialized in painting, he finally decided to improve his sculpture skills, considering the latter as a way of developing three-dimensional and multi-sensory possibilities.
Yoan Capote is already recognized in the Cuban art circles - as a promising artist. His work, known to be “solid”, “irreverent”, “provocative”, and “non-conformist” – according to some art critics – deals principally with interactions between individuals and objects.
Yoan Capote follows the line of internationally-known artists Gabriel Orozco
Gabriel Orozco
Gabriel Orozco is a Mexican artist, who in 1998 was called "one of the most influential artists of this decade, and probably the next one too." He was born in Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico and educated in the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas between 1981 and 1984. He then continued his education...
or Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
, working on sculptures and 3D installations such as Open Mind.
Open Mind is a labyrinth based on the drawing of the human brain where people can walk. People become metaphors for neurons transmitting information as they walk around the maze. This work inspires reflection on the interrelation among persons, who attempt to coexist with each other.
Yoan Capote often merges human organs with inanimate objects, rearranges the human body and reinvents the purpose of everyday life: the sculpture Nostalgia, which features an ordinary suitcase unzipped to reveal a wall of bricks, can be seen as a metaphor for nomadism and its limits, the wall of bricks standing for our own impediments we all carry with us wherever we go.
Currently, Yoan Capote designs everyday life furniture, using materials who usually belong to traditional art.
Exhibitions
Collectives exhibitions- 2011 : LʼInsoutenable Légèreté de lʼêtre (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Yvon Lambert Gallery, NY
- 2009 : PANAMERICANA, Galeria Kurimanzutto, Mexico City
- 2009 : 10th edition of Havana Biennial, Havana
- 2008 : Surrounded by Water : Expressions of Freedom and Isolation in Contemporary Cuban Art - Boston University Art Gallery - BUAG, Boston, MA
- 2006 : Waiting List : Time and transition in Cuban Contemporary Art - City Art Museum Ljubljana - Mestna Galerija 1, Ljubljana Group Show - George Adams Gallery, New York, NY
- 2005 : The Nature of Things : Works on Paper by Yoan Capote, Valerie Demianchuk, William T. Wiley - George Adams Gallery, New York, NY Body Language - George Adams Gallery, New York, NY
- 2004 : New Installations, Artists in Residence - Cuba - The Mattress Factory, Pittsburg, PA BUSH-WHACK! - George Adams Gallery, New York, NY
- 2003 : 8th edition of Havana Biennial, Havana
- 2000 : 7th edition of Havana Biennial, Havana
Individual exhibitions
- 2010 : Mental States - Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY
- 2008 : Psicomorfosis - Galería Habana, Havana
- 2004 : Animica - George Adams Gallery, New York, NY
External links
- http://www.yoan-capote.com
- http://www.iniva.org/library/archive/people/c/capote_yoan
- http://www.artnet.com/artist/140710/yoan-capote.html
- http://www.patriciagoodrich.com/capote.html
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_6_93/ai_n13804269/
- http://www.universes-in-universe.de/car/habana/bien8/cabana/e-tour-15.htm
- http://www.georgeadamsgallery.com/artists/biography.php3?artist=14
- http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-133081864.html
- http://www.wallpaper.com/newgallery/17050954/1
- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cuban-zeal-revolutionary-art-and-artists-1678393.html?action=Popup&ino=26