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Reynier Leyva Novo

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Reynier Leyva Novo
Born1983 (age 41–42)
Havana, Cuba
Alma materAcademia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro
Instituto Superior de Arte
Known forPainting, Performance, Installation
Notable workEl peso de la Historia (9 Laws from the series The Weight of History), 2014
Patria, muerte y azúcar (Homeland, death and sugar), 2019
MovementContemporary art, Conceptual art

Reynier Leyva Novo (born 1983 in Havana, Cuba) is a multidisciplinary and conceptual artist working across the Americas. His artistic practice often includes the use of data from official records and the reimagining of historical narratives localizing Cuban history within the global geopolitical discourse.[1][2][3] Leyva Novo relocated to Houston, Texas, in 2021, where he lives and works.[4]

Early life and Education

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Reynier Leyva Novo was born in the city of Havana, Cuba, in 1983. He attended the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts (2004), and later the department of Art Practice at the Instituto Superior de Arte (2007), at the time directed by artist, activist and educator, Tania Bruguera.[5][6]

Career

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Reynier Leyva Novo's conceptual work confronts historical systems of power and addresses the impact of migration and climate crisis in a global context.[7][1] He uses photography, video, installations, and media arts in his works.[8] He is a member of the activist collective 27N.[9]

He was Artist-in-Residence at Residency Unlimited, New York, in 2016.[6] In 2017, Leyva Novo's work 9 Leyes from the series El peso de la Historia [9 Laws from the series The Weight of History] (2014) was included in the survey exhibition On the Horizon: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, presenting a selection of artworks loaned and acquired by the museum.[10]

Also in 2017, he was included in the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, Los Angeles.[11][12] His works Arqueologia de una sonrisa [Archaeology of a Smile] (2015-2017) and El beso de cristal [Crystal Kiss] (2015) were on display in the art trennial Frestas, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2017.[13]

Leyva Novo presented Patria, muerte y azúcar / Homeland, death and sugar at his house during the 13th Havana Biennial in 2019, the work is about his investigation on transatlantic slave trade and colonial enterprises in the Caribbean region.[14][15]

Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah (2021-2022), a digital artwork depicting a Monarch butterfly through the insect's yearly journey for reproduction from Mexico, the United States, and into southern Canada. The work was developed in collaboration with taxidermists, software engineers, and technologists, who helped to create a media artwork modeled after the Monarch's actual migration pattern and experience during its annual reproduction cycle, considering weather changes and other natural phenomena. The work was commissioned by and exhibited at the El Museo del Barrio, New York, with support from Via Art Fund and various art institutions including the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Columbia University, and Arizona State University Art Museum, among others.[3][2][16][17][18][19]

In 2023, Leyva Novo presented the solo show Sunset Road at Artpace, San Antonio, as a culmination of his Artist-in-Residence at the Texas arts organization. The installation Sauna Truck commented on the 2022 tragic incident involving a truck with dozens of migrants who were abandoned in a San Antonio road.[20]

Reynier Leyva Novo: The Flowers of My Exile (2023) was an autobiographical solo exhibition presented at an arts space in Phoenix, Arizona. The photography compilation showcased native species of flora encountered by Leyva Novo in his travels since leaving Cuba in exile in 2021.[4][21][22]

The Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston, presented the solo show Reynier Leyva Novo: Former Present Today (2024), exhibiting a new body of work on public monuments and the commemoration of tyrannical and authoritarian figures in global history.[23][24] A public monument by Leyva Novo following the same investigation, was on view at Post, arts organization in Texas, in 2024.[25]

Collections

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Reynier Leyva Novo's work is featured in several museum collections in the United States and abroad including the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida;[8] Kadist, California;[26] Walker Art Center, Minnesota;[27] Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.;[28] Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas;[29] and the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio;[30] among others.

References

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  1. ^ a b de los Ángeles Torres, María (2024). Democracy and Time in Cuban Thought: The Elusive Present. University Press of Florida. doi:10.2307/jj.9941109.10. ISBN 978-1-68340-402-6.
  2. ^ a b "Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah". Phoenix Art Museum. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  3. ^ a b "Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah". El Museo del Barrio. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  4. ^ a b "Reynier Leyva Novo. The flowers of my exile". Meer. 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  5. ^ OnCuba, Redacción (2013-10-08). "The story told by Reynier Leyva Novo". OnCubaNews English. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  6. ^ a b "Reynier Leyva Novo – Residency Unlimited". Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  7. ^ ATPdiary (2016-03-10). "Interview with Reynier Leyva Novo — Galleria Continua". ATP DIARY (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  8. ^ a b "Artworks Archive • Pérez Art Museum Miami". Pérez Art Museum Miami. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  9. ^ "Liste feels the weight of Cuban history". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  10. ^ "On the Horizon: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection • Pérez Art Museum Miami". Pérez Art Museum Miami. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  11. ^ Narrow, Stephanie (2017). "Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA". California History. 94 (4): 57–58. doi:10.1525/ch.2017.94.4.57. ISSN 0162-2897.
  12. ^ "Cuban Art & Artists in "Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA" | THE ARCHIVE | CUBAN ART NEWS". cubanartnewsarchive.org. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  13. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo | | Sesc | Frestas". frestas2017.sescsp.org.br. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  14. ^ "Havana Biennial opens amid controversy". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  15. ^ "Art Between Censorship And Complicity". Contemporary And (in German). Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  16. ^ "VIA Art Fund | Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah". VIA Art Fund. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  17. ^ "Artnexus". www.artnexus.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  18. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah". Arts Initiative at Columbia University. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  19. ^ "Installation: Methuselah by Reynier Leyva Novo". ASU Art Museum. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  20. ^ "The Sunset Road". Artpace San Antonio. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  21. ^ Hegert, Natalie (2023-09-01). "Reynier Leyva Novo: The Flowers of My Exile". Southwest Contemporary. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  22. ^ all-about-photo.com. "Reynier Leyva Novo: The Flowers of My Exile". www.all-about-photo.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  23. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo". Blaffer Art Museum. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  24. ^ "REYNIER LEYVA NOVO REFLECTS ABOUT THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE - Arte Al Dia". www.artealdia.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  25. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo: What it is, what it has been - POST Program". www.posthtx.com. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  26. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo – Kadist". Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  27. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo". walkerart.org. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  28. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo: The Weight of History, Five Nights - Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian". Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  29. ^ "Reynier Leyva Novo | People | The MFAH Collections". emuseum.mfah.org. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  30. ^ "CUBAN FOREVER |". www.columbusmuseum.org. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
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