Alvaro Barrington talks to Ben Lukeabout his influences—from writers to musicians and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work.
For Barrington—who was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1983, but grew up in Grenada and Brooklyn—painting is the bedrock of a practice that incorporates installation, sculpture and found objects, textiles, the written word and community events.
detail from Alvaro Barringtons Wet Fete: Bather, June 2023 (2023)
Credit: © Alvaro Barrington. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London
He weaves together broad references, drawing on his personal and cultural background, and hugely diverse influences—particularly from art history, literature, political thought, and music—to create arresting and often exuberant constellations of imagery and materials.
He discusses his early interest in the Akira manga, his admiration for artists as diverse as Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons and Johannes Vermeer, the significance of Audre Lorde’s essay Poetry is Not a Luxury, and why he feels hip-hop legend Tupac is the most significant artist of his lifetime.
Alvaro Barrington's New Sun Mangrove GeesB (2022)
Credit: © Alvaro Barrington. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London; Photo: Katie Morrison
He gives insight into life in the studio, and reflects on the importance of his move to London from New York in the 2010s. Plus, he answers our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?
• Alvaro’s work will be at the Notting Hill Carnival on 27 and 28 August.
• Grandma’s Land, Sadie Coles HQ, London, 2 September-21 October
• They Got Time, Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Pantin, 18 October-27 January 2024
• Nicola Vassell, New York, November-December, dates to be confirmed
• Tate Britain commission, Tate Britain, London, spring 2024.
• Alvaro discusses Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, on the The Week in Art’s Vermeer Special.
Alvaro Barrington's Sea to C: Sydney June Victoria Sunset 2023 (2023)
Credit: © Alvaro Barrington. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London; Photo: Jessica Maure
This podcast is sponsored by Bloomberg Connects, the arts and culture app.
The free app offers access to a vast range of international cultural organisations through a single download, with new guides being added regularly. They include several museums and galleries where Alvaro Barrington has shown his work, including Tate Britain in London, where he will take on the sculpture commission in the Duveen Galleries in 2024, and MoMA PS1 in New York, where he had his first solo museum show. If you download the app, you’ll find that the guide to MoMA PS1 has sections on all its current exhibitions, including Daniel Lind-Ramos’s El Viejo Griot—Una Historia de Todo Nosotros. In a series of fascinating audio features, the Puerto Rican artist explores his symbolism and materials in depth.