Alvaro Barrington' burlap paintings memories of his mother, aunts
When looking at works by Alvaro Barrington, viewers may notice the stories his works tell about how his upbringing and life has exposed him to different cultures in New York, the Caribbean and the UK, as well as the art masters that influenced him.
His “Soul to Seoul” exhibition at Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in Seoul — his first solo exhibition in the city — presents 14 paintings on burlap canvases that Barrington sews together, depicting his impression of a sun setting over the horizon.
The quilt-making technique he used for the works on view was influenced by his mother and aunts as he grew up watching them quilting. His mother passed away when he was 10, the artist said.
“If my aunt sees this, she will think about how this is sewn, more than she thinks about like how I could have painted it,” the artist said at the gallery on Friday. He said it took some three weeks to sew different types of burlap together to become a canvas.
When it comes to burlap — which is common in other countries and used in different contexts — he said the fabric was used in the Caribbean to pack and export things such as cacao.
“I think there is something powerful about — whatever the culture is — that we all could see the same painting and know exactly what we are seeing, so in a way — despite the differences — we could all come together and start a conversation,” he said.
Paintings featured in the exhibition show different features on the upper and lower parts of the canvas, with a central a horizon line. The upper parts are painted with a spray, an influence from seeing graffiti while growing up in New York. The lower parts are created by taking references from art masters such as Etel Adnan (1925-2021), Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011).
“It is a bit of a funny game that I played with myself,” he said.
The body of work shown at the exhibition was conceived for London’s Notting Hill Carnival in 2024, a two-day event that celebrates Caribbean culture through music, dance and food. He has collaborated with the annual Notting Hill Carnival since 2019, according to the gallery.
Barrington said he was excited to meet Korean audiences for his first presentation in Seoul.
“I was really excited to be here and explore culture. Korea right now feels like it is exporting culture, if you think about Squid Game. I came here listening to music by Korean singer Rose,” he said.
The exhibition in Seoul runs through April 12.
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