February 14 – March 15, 2014
Steve Turner Contemporary is pleased to present Plegaria Muda (Silent Prayer), a performance and solo exhibition by Carlos Martiel. The performance will take place in the upstairs gallery on Friday, February 14. Martiel will position himself in the middle of the room where thin strands of nylon will be sewn into his body that will tautly extend to the walls of the gallery where they will be attached. Bells emitting varying sounds will be attached to the nylon. While Martiel will strive to remain motionless, his inevitable involuntary movements will trigger the chimes. When the gallery re-opens on Tuesday, February 18, it will feature a photograph and a two channel video of the performance along with the nylon strands that previously held Martiel in place.
According to guest curator Edna Sandoval, in “Plegaria Muda Martiel explores what it is to be human and seeks to know for himself whether he has any life force beyond the borders of his own physical body. This question, one that has been asked since the beginning of mankind, is fundamental to all the world’s religions and it centers on the notion of one having a spirit. In aiming to remain still, Martiel seeks to animate the conflict between that objective and the environment around him so that the bells will represent his spirit.”
Carlos Martiel (born 1989, Havana) graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts, Havana (2009) before moving to the United States in 2013. His work has been included in the Havana Biennial (2009); Pontevedra Biennial, Galicia (2010), Liverpool Biennial (2010); and Biennial La Otra, Bogotá (2013). He has also had solo exhibitions at the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, Havana (2012); Nitsch Museum, Naples (2013); Axeneo 7, Montreal (2013) and LUX, Guatemala City, (2013). He won the Arte Laguna Prize, Venice (2013). This is Martiel’s debut project in the United States.
Edna Sandoval (born Guatemala City, 1990) has risen from studio assistant to biennial curator in a very short amount of time. Her first significant art world experience was working closely with Guatemala’s two most prominent contemporary artists, Regina José Galindo and Anibal López. She subsequently went on a grand tour of Latin America visiting artists in fifteen different countries. Most recently, Sandoval was the co-curator for Central America and the Caribbean at La Otra Biennial in Bogota, Colombia.
Carlos Martiel Delgado Sainz
Born 1989, Havana
2008-2009 Chair “Art Practice” directed by artist Tania Bruguera, Havana
2005-2009 National Academy of Fine Arts “San Alejandro”, Havana
Solo Shows and Performances
2013
Camouflage, Fonderie Darling, Montréal
Acid Rain, Axeneo7, Gatineau, Canada
MARES (with artist Gustavo Solar) Pera del Olmo, Buenos Aires
Punto di Fuga, Nitsch Museum, Naples
Prodigal Son, Theatre LUX, Guatemala City
2012
MARES (with artist Gustavo Solar), Project Room, Quito, Ecuador
Mock, Contemporary Art Center Wifredo Lam, Havana
2011
Desilucional, Zalle Zero, French Alliance in Cuba, Havana
Lost sentiment, Havana Factory, Havana
2010
Prodigal son, Witch House, Liverpool
Quartered spirits, Development Center for the Visual Arts, Havana
2009.
Adam Black and more, National Academy of Fine Arts San Alejandro, Havana
Group Exhibitions
2013
To Break the Walls, Museum of Fine Arts, Havana
Video in Action, French Alliance in Maracay, Maracay, Venezuela
Video Art of Central American and Caribbean “La Otra Bienal”, The Macarena, Bogota
The In-Tension, Beton7, Athens
Perpendicular Luta, SESC Palladium, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Behind the Wall, The 8th floor, New York
VIVA! Art action, Bain St-Michel, Montréal
Think twice: New Latin American Jewelry, Arts Center, Monterrey, Mexico
Incorpora, Xisto Space, Bahia, Brazil
Beyon Fragility, Historical Center Kalamanca, Kalamanca, Greece
Road Maps, Sputnik Art Project, Milan
Sovereign acts Space 13 Foundation, Warsaw
Think twice, New Latin American Jewelry, Estonian Museum of Art and Design, Tallinn, Estonia
Exhibition of Artists Award 2012, Haus der Kunst, Vallarta, Mexico
2012
International Multimedia Art Festival, Institut français de Birmanie, Yangon, Myanmar
Deformes Biennial IV, University of Chile “School of Theatre”, Santiago de Chile
On sincerity, Boston University, Boston
N.N. International Performance, Space Quina, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Close Combat II, The multinational, Quito, Ecuador
FLYERS, Collateral to the 11th Biennial of Havana, Morro – Cabaña, Havana
A History Vintage, 273 Alcalá, Madrid
New Video-political realities, Museum of Modern Art of Medellin, Medellin ; (Mamba) Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, San Juan, Argentina;(CAC) Contemporary Art Center of Quito, Ecuador ; Spain Cordoba Cultural Center, Cordoba, Argentina ; Co-op tramallol, Sevilla; Cultural Center Founders,Manizales, Colombia ; La Mandorla: Space Test and action, San Juan, Argentina ; Foundation Art Bilbao, Bilbao; Perifèries (Nau), Valencia; Antic Teatre, Barcelona
Art is not easy: Temporary Lapses and Artistic Translation, Links Hall, Chicago
Wakes, Flashing Space, Cartagena. Colombia
2011
Quinquenio, Zalle Zero, French Alliance in Cuba, Havana
Pink Noise, Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design “Luz & Oficio”. Havana
Friendly takeover, zu Gast bei E105 Artlab21 studio, Bonn. Germany
Think twice, New Latin American Jewelry, Bellevue Museum of Arts, Seattle
Spray, Das Hochhaus Kokerei Hansa Museum, Dortmund, Germany
2010
Images, Imageres, Imaginaires, World Festival of Black Arts and Cultures, Biscuiterie of Medina, Dakar, Senegal
The Atmosphere: Section poetic + Art Festival, Centro Wilfredo Lam Contemporary Art, Havana
Touched, Visitor Center, International Festival of Art Contemporany, 6th Liverpool Biennial
The tip of the bullet, a decade of Cuban Art, Cuba Pavilion. Havana
Subject omitted, Humboldt Chair, Havana
Think Twice: New Latin American Jewelry, Museum of Art and Design (MAD), New York
American Night, Development Center for the Visual Arts, Havana
Utropicos, University of Fine Arts in Pontevedra, Pontevedra Biennial XXXI, Galicia, Spain
2009
Strong is the Morro WHO I AM, Space Aglutinador, Havana
Only short, Transfusion Cuban Cultural Festival, Barcelona
State of Exception, Gallery X Havana Biennial, Havana
Awards and Residencies
2013.
Prize “Arte Laguna”, Venice
2012.
Award “Close Up Vallarta”, Jalisco, Mexico
Short Term Residence, The Multinational, Quito, Ecuador
2009.
Parties Prenantes, Betansalon, Paris
