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Alexander Arrechea in New York
11April
News

Alexander Arrechea in New York

Cuban artist Alexander Arrechea, former member of "Los Carpinteros", represented by Magnan Metz Gallery, has been exhibiting, since March 1st, a series of installations in New York City with the title No Limits. The series is made up of ten large-scale sculptures of the most iconic buildings of the city, which have been progressively installed.
 

Placed along Park Avenue, some of the buildings included in the series are the Empire State, Flatiron, Helmsley and MetLife. The Sherry Netherland, from the 59th street., has been reimagined by the artist as an almost closed circle; the Flatiron is reconfigured in aluminum at the corner of 57th street; the Citygroup Center’s sculpture at 54th street can even be swiveled on its spinning point; while Helmsley building, at the 64th, the artist said, is one of his favorite ones: "represented like a snake that devours its tail, one of the metaphors that accurately describe this city, which is constantly trying to transform itself ". The Empire State, Manhattan’s most famous skyscraper, couldn’t be ignored in this display. In this case, the artist represents it as a sort of hose that has been rolled to form a pentagon. On this image Arrechea has declared that "we wanted to establish a relation between the Empire State and Washington’s Pentagon, two powerful buildings that contain the idea of fear."


By manipulating the shape of these buildings, Arrechea sheds light on the role played by architecture in terms of the handling of power and control. The artist destabilizes the perception through the elasticity and mobility sense that hasn’t been associated to the structure of these buildings.
 

On Monday April 8, Philips Gallery inaugurated an exhibition title No Limits, to be open through the 13th, which includes watercolors and sculptures.  These watercolors and sculptures stand as the documentation and extension of the Park Avenue project.
 

Exhibited through June 9, from 53rd street to Park Avenue’s 67th, the works can be admired those who visit New York.
 

Source: Press release, www.phillips.com, EFE