(BEVERLY HILLS — May 17, 2021) — UTA Artist Space is pleased to present Stormscape [utaartistspace.com], an exhibition of new paintings of land and seascapes accompanied by large-scale sculpture by the Cuban American painter and sculptor Manny Castro. The exhibition narrative centers on a lone figure on a raft at sea, symbolizing the pilgrimage of Cuban exiles and the bravery of all immigrants venturing into the unknown across shores. Castro’s turbulent, atmospheric paintings transform the typically sunny Los Angeles gallery space into a stormy environment filled with wind, fog, and unruly waters.
Through beautifully layered figurative paintings and sculpture, Castro reveals the invisible amidst the visible and vice versa, creating a poetic tension between traditional painterly materials (acrylic and oil paint on canvas) with cowrie shells, burlap, and synthetic hair. The full vision of the artist manifests as an immersive experience that brings the ocean into the back gallery of UTA Artist Space.
ABOUT MANNY CASTRO
Manny Castro is a Los Angeles-based painter and sculptor whose practice explores race, gender, and sexuality through the lens of his own experience as a Cuban American artist. Castro’s work is physically and conceptually layered to provoke an open-ended narrative. Castro provides an investigation into how a people can be physically present yet remain unseen and how invisibility is a common occurrence towards marginalized communities. Receiving his education at Parsons: The New School for Design and The New York Studio School, Castro has exhibited work at The Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; The Wolfsonian Museum, Miami; and the Miami Art Museum, Miami. He has also exhibited in unique venues such as the display windows of Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store in Manhattan, Barneys New York on Madison Avenue, Fred Segal, Los Angeles and in a group show curated by Patrick McMullan in Andy Warhol’s “The Factory” studio on 47th Street, before the building was demolished. His work is included in several private collections.
ABOUT UTA ARTIST SPACE
UTA Artist Space is an exhibition venue designed by Ai Weiwei in the heart of Beverly Hills that is committed to showcasing art by globally recognized talent. Over the past few months, UTA Artist Space exhibited several virtual shows including Revolutionizing the Systems We’re Transcending, Thread of Existence, Eighteen Hundred Roses; The Voice of Grief, In Cahoots: Artists and Curators at USC Roski, Class of 2020: At Such A Time As This, Everyday is Sunday, In the Time of and Renaissance: Noir, as well as physical exhibitions How We Hold It All Together, Liberating Humanity From Within, Emergency On Planet Earth: In A Time Close To Now, I Guess by Now I’m Supposed to Be a Man: I’m Just Trying to Leave Behind Yesterday, Disembodiment, Dark Fantasy, Dreamweavers and more on-site at UTA Artist Space in Beverly Hills. Additionally, UTA Artist Space launched Artist Projects, an ongoing series of virtual collaborations with artists such as Shantell Martin and Iva Gueorguieva on the UTA Artist Space website.
Since its establishment in 2016, UTA Artist Space has presented notable exhibitions with interdisciplinary artists and creatives, including Derrick Adams, Myrtis Bedolla of Galerie Myrtis, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Essence Harden, Larry Clark, Petra Cortright, Conrad Egyir, Amanda Hunt, Mariane Ibrahim, Arcmanoro Niles, The Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery, The Haas Brothers, and Ai Weiwei, among others. UTAArtistSpace.com.
COVID-19 SAFETY
All visitors will have to acknowledge via the online appointment system both the health and safety guidelines and their health status before they visit. All visitors must wear a mask at all times. Masks and hand sanitizer will be available on site for guest usage. All guests will have a 30-minute window for viewing the gallery. Guests will not be permitted to the gallery before or after their viewing time. If they arrive earlier, they will be asked to wait in their car until their appointment time. Guests must practice social distancing. There is ample signage throughout the space including arrows on the floor that tell guests which way foot traffic is flowing. Restrooms will be closed to guests and the Artist Space will be deep cleaned on a regular schedule following the close of business each day.
PRESS CONTACT
Marcella Zimmermann
Vice President, Cultural Counsel
marcella@culturalcounsel.com
Thomas High
Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel
Thomas@culturalcounsel.com
