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Locust Projects presents Bare Tool (Herramienta desnuda), a new exhibition by artist Alexandre Arrechea that explores the action of a stone skipping across water as a metaphor for “social sculpture” and the resulting ripple effect, which the artist envisions in three acts: “The Tool,” “The Action,” and “The Implications,” unfolding as a large-scale, immersive multimedia experience that invites reflection on the power of individual acts.

Sculptures suspended from the ceiling, moveable floor elements, and video projections transform a simple gesture into an engaging and expansive experience, emphasizing how seemingly small actions can lead to meaningful change. The space will serve as a site for several “Acts” and social activations, including Locust Projects’ Annual Benefit Dinner and a new performance commission during Miami Art Week, among others.

Bare Tool also embodies a deeper technological and familial moment for the artist. Arrechea uses digital video footage of his son, Arturo, playing in a park to create a dialogue between movement and consequence. Video projections and lighting fill the space as visitors move through the gallery, generating “ripples” that extend the metaphor of influence and impact across the cultural landscape.

Lead Presenting Sponsor: María Bechily and Scott Hodes. The exhibition is a Knight Digital Commission and made possible with major support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and a National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Grant.

About the Artist

Alexandre Arrechea (b. 1970, Trinidad, Cuba) graduated in 1994 from the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. Arrechea currently lives and works between Madrid and Miami. 

Arrechea's artistic repertoire spans a variety of mediums, including large-scale installations, sculptures, watercolor drawings, and videos, all of which investigate profound themes including history, memory, politics, and power dynamics within sports and urban environments. His site-specific approach involves a deep exploration of the ideological and philosophical foundation of the surrounding context, aiming to foster a more immersive interaction with the audience.

Beyond physical structures, Arrechea’s examinations explore the cultural resonances inherent in architecture, from design to social value, and how these elements influence various interpretations. Through meticulous dissection of architectural anatomies and spaces via drawings and installations, he unveils the potential conflicts embedded within these structures, arising from the myriad decisions "hidden" within them.

Internationally acclaimed as one of the founding members of the Cuban collective Los Carpinteros (The Carpenters), active from 1991 through 2003, Arrechea began his solo career in the same year. Some of his notable projects include "Nolimits" (2013), a monumental project featuring ten sculptures inspired by iconic New York City buildings along Park Avenue, and "Katrina Chairs" (2016), erected at the Coachella Music Festival in Palm Springs, California, USA, a re-imagining of the Villa Balmain 

In 2020, during Miami Art Week, Arrechea created “Dreaming with Lions,” an immersive installation resembling a vast forum-library, which was exhibited at Faena Miami Beach. This piece symbolized humanity’s resilience in the face of formidable challenges, emphasizing the power to persist through adversity. In 2022, Arrechea designed the Web3 virtual “Hexagon Garden” for Superblue, commissioned by Balmain, which enveloped Leonardo Ricci’s Villa Balmain. In 2023, he collaborated with Carlos Acosta and a team of international creatives at the Birmingham Royal Ballet in the UK, showcasing his talent in set and costume design for “Black Sabbath: The Ballet.

His first solo museum exhibition, Intersected Horizons (2023), curated by Gabriela Urtiaga at the Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, explored his practice as a social and political exploration melding art, history, and archaeological forms. Arrechea’s work can be found in the permanent collections of the Reina Sofia, Madrid; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and Daros Collection, Zurich, among numerous others.

Arrechea has also participated in many group exhibitions, including Las metáforas del templo, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba (1993); With Eyes of Stone and Water, Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland (2002); Beyond the Supersquare, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York (2014); and Adios Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art since 1950, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas (2017). He is represented by LnS Gallery in Miami where his most recent exhibition, "Uncharted Surfaces" is on view Oct 4, 2024-November 23, 2024.