Yucef Merhi
Encyclopedia
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n artist, poet and computer programmer, based in New York.
Life and work
Yucef Merhi was born in CaracasCaracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela. He studied at Universidad Central de Venezuela and New School University.. His artistic practice began in the mid 80s. He is known as the first artist in exhibiting a work of art that included a video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
, the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, back in 1985. As the pioneer of Digital Art
Digital art
Digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process...
in Venezuela, Merhi has produced a wide body of works that engage electronic circuits, computers, video game systems, touch screens, and other devices in the presentation of his written words, like the Poetic Clock, a machine that converts time into poetry which generates 86.400 different poems daily . The resulting artworks expand the limitations of language and the traditional context of poetry, proposing a bold new role for the poet in our culture.
Exhibitions
Merhi's career encompasses a world wide exhibition record in places such as the New Museum of Contemporary ArtNew Museum of Contemporary Art
The New Museum, founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker, is the only museum in New York City exclusively devoted to presenting contemporary art from around the world...
; Bronx Museum of the Arts
Bronx Museum of the Arts
The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a cultural institution located in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th century works created by American artists, and it has hosted exhibitions of art and design from Latin America, Africa and Asia...
; El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino visual arts cultural institution, is located in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, United States, also known as El Barrio. The museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of the Latino, Caribbean, and...
;Eyebeam Art and Technology Center and Exit Art
Exit Art
Exit Art is a non-profit cultural center established in 1982. Located in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City, United States, the two-story gallery exhibits contemporary visual art, installation, video, theater, and performance....
, all located in New York; as well as the Orange County Museum of Art
Orange County Museum of Art
The Orange County Museum of Art is a museum located in Newport Beach, California.The museum's collection comprises more than 3,000 objects, with a concentration on the art of California from the early 20th century to present...
(California); De Appel
De Appel
De Appel is an internationally focused contemporary arts centre, located in Amsterdam. Since it was founded, the goal of de Appel is to function as a stage for research and presentation of visual arts. Exhibitions, publications and discursive events are the main activities of de Appel. In 1994...
(Amsterdam); Museo Michetti (Rome); Borusan Culture & Art Center (Istanbul); Paço das Artes (São Paulo); Museo del Chopo (Mexico DF); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán (Yucatán); Museo de Bellas Artes (Caracas); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Caracas); Science World British Columbia(Vancouver); among many others. He also participated in the official selections of the 7th International Festival of New Film, Split, Croatia; the 2007 Bienal de São Paulo – Valencia; and the 10th Istanbul Biennial.
His work is documented in more than 40 catalogs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, movies, text books, PhD thesis and academic volumes. He is currently represented in the collections of the Orange County Museum of Art (California); Museo Alejandro Otero (Caracas); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas (Caracas); Ateneo de Valencia (Valencia); and private collections in New York, Miami, Caracas, Madrid and Tel Aviv.
Awards
Merhi has received several grants and awards including the New York Foundation for the ArtsNew York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was created in conjunction the in 1971. The organization gives grants to individual artists and writers and developing arts organizations with a mission to '.'-NYFA's Programs:...
in Digital/Electronic Arts, as well as numerous commissions and residencies from institutions such as the Orange County Museum of Art
Orange County Museum of Art
The Orange County Museum of Art is a museum located in Newport Beach, California.The museum's collection comprises more than 3,000 objects, with a concentration on the art of California from the early 20th century to present...
, Bronx Museum of the Arts
Bronx Museum of the Arts
The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a cultural institution located in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th century works created by American artists, and it has hosted exhibitions of art and design from Latin America, Africa and Asia...
, and Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, among others.