Alvaro Barrington Soul to Seoul
14 Février—12 Avril 2025
Seoul Fort Hill
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Overview
Thaddaeus Ropac is pleased to present Soul to Seoul, Alvaro Barrington’s first exhibition in Korea. Exploring how art can be an active part and a reflection of carnival culture, each year Barrington develops a new body of work in collaboration with the Notting Hill Carnival, which dresses the Mangrove Steelband performance truck and responds to their annual theme. In 2024, the artist produced a series of paintings depicting the Caribbean landscape inspired by the theme Odyssey – Enchanted Voyage. Each work features the artist’s impression of a sun setting over the horizon. Drawing on his experience of growing up in the Caribbean as well as the work of artists including Etel Adnan (1925–2021), Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), Henri Matisse (1869–1954), as well as some of his contemporaries, including Joe Bradley and Peter Doig, the series blends the artist’s personal memories with art-historical references. Through this collaboration, Barrington explores further his expanded approach to painting and display, in which he incorporates a variety of media, experiments with different techniques and shows his works in non-traditional settings.
Thaddaeus Ropac is pleased to present Soul to Seoul, Alvaro Barrington’s first exhibition in Korea. Exploring how art can be an active part and a reflection of carnival culture, each year Barrington develops a new body of work in collaboration with the Notting Hill Carnival, which dresses the Mangrove Steelband performance truck and responds to their annual theme. In 2024, the artist produced a series of paintings depicting the Caribbean landscape inspired by the theme Odyssey – Enchanted Voyage. Each work features the artist’s impression of a sun setting over the horizon. Drawing on his experience of growing up in the Caribbean as well as the work of artists including Etel Adnan (1925–2021), Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), Henri Matisse (1869–1954), as well as some of his contemporaries, including Joe Bradley and Peter Doig, the series blends the artist’s personal memories with art-historical references. Through this collaboration, Barrington explores further his expanded approach to painting and display, in which he incorporates a variety of media, experiments with different techniques and shows his works in non-traditional settings.
