Ben Brown Fine Arts presents Emotional Objects - the Cuban artist Yoan Capote’s inaugural solo exhibition in London. A leading figure of the burgeoning Cuban art scene, Capote creates psychologically resonant sculptural works in a myriad of media that address a multiplicity of themes - ranging from those of the human condition (isolation, anxiety, desire, claustrophobia, obsession) to cultural identity, migration, politics and the economy.
While Capote’s works are clearly informed by his experiences growing up and living in a politically turbulent and isolated nation, there is a universal dialogue to them that transcends the autobiographical. Despite the serious implications behind his work, there is sardonic playfulness in their presentation, recalling the Surrealists and their interest in the paradoxical. From Will of Power, a monumental ladder affixed to a rocking chair base; to Secreto (Mucho por decir), two rubber molds of ears connected by a soundproof glass tube; to Romance, conjoined umbrellas; and Casados, leather shoes that have been transformed to literally meld into one another, his work promotes immediate humorous associations that go on to reveal more complex issues.
Isla (La Espera) is a sculptural painting fastidiously fashioned from nails, fishhooks and oil paint based on Capote’s childhood memories of growing up on a politically isolated island, longing to know the United States and beyond. What initially registers as a serene, benign seascape turns into a powerful, foreboding image connoting danger and impenetrability as the materiality of the piece is explored. Migrants consists of two slender cast bronze trees that are seemingly uprooted from the earth as they anthropomorphize into human feet that lie futilely on the ground, serving as a metaphor for the physical and psychological conflicts associated with the experience of migration.
The exhibition will also include a steel installation realized exclusively for this show, entitled Lacerante (Mi Silencio), as well as examples of Capote’s highly conceptual photographic work.
Image: © Yoan Capote
Isla (La Espera), 2012
Oil, nails and fish-hooks on linen panel on plywood
80 x 120 x 7cm
Courtesy of Ben Brown Fine Arts
