El Museo Del Barrio and Maestro Dobel Tequila Present the inaugural Exhibition for the Maestro Dobel LatinX Art Prize, Cuerpo: Carlos Martiel. Martiel is a performance artist who focused on using his body for endurance performances. The Exhibition is on view now until September 1, 2024, at El Museo Del Barrio in room 110
On Wednesday, May 1, 2004, El Museo del Barrio invited The Knockturnal to attend the reception celebrating the inaugural Exhibition for the Maestro Dobel LatinX Art Prize. The Exhibition features a body of work titled Cuerpo by winner Carlos Martiel. Maestro Dobel Tequila created this art prize to amplify the voices of the Latin X community, which has been historically overlooked and underrepresented in the art world. An initiative well understood by New York’s most renowned LatinX art museum,
Carlos Martiel is a solo artist born in Havana, Cuba, in 1989, where he studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts. Upon graduation in 2009, he started showing solo excisions in Cuba, Europe and the United States. Over the past 12 years, his exhibitions have earned him awards all over the globe. Carlos is a multi-disciplined artist who uses endurance performance art (in both public and gallery spaces) to explore the complex legacies of colonialism on race, labor and migration. His Exhibition, Cuerpo, is an archival survey of over a decade’s work focused on his body as the main medium.
This Exhibition, on view at the Museo De Barrio from May 2 – September 1, 2024, includes a selection of drawings, photographs, videos and remnants of sculptural performances that represent some of his most significant work. The most impactful pieces include images of his body drenched in blood from his performance Monumento I, images and videos from his performance, Monumento II, at the Guggenheim, where he was standing nude and handcuffed in the middle of the rotunda. Lastly a video of his a performance piece Cuerpo, that featured multiple people holding up his body so that it does not drop to hand in the noose situated around his neck.
It’s rare to step into a room and see the stark reality of a nation’s forgotten history acted out before one’s eyes, but this is precisely what Carlos Martiel’s work has achieved. He has chosen to be brutally honest with the viewer about his experience as a member of a marginalized community in America, resulting in a stunning display of art that imprints a perspective often forgotten by modern society.
I strongly encourage a trip to the Upper East Side to view the incredible anthology that Rodrigo Moura and Susanna V. Tempkin were able to curate from the poignant and stunning work of Carlos Martiel.
The Museo de Barrio is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in New York City. Visiting hours are Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is paid according to your preference.
