Alexis Leiva Machado (1970), known as KCHO (sometimes spelled K'cho) is a Cuban artist. He was the winner of the grand prize at South Korea's Gwangju Biennale in 1995.
Early life and education
Alexis Leiva Machado (KCHO) was born in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Pines), on February 12, 1970. His father, Ignacio de Loyola Leiva Abreu, was a carpenter and telecommunication technician, and his mother, Martina Primitiva Machado Cuní (better known as Martha Camacho) was a famous artist. He grew up alongside his four sisters.
KCHO attended Josué País primary school and Manuel Alcolea primary school. He then attended Elementary Art School Leonardo Liberta in Isla de la Juventud.
In 1986, KCHO enrolled in the National School of Plastic Arts (ENA) in Havana and graduated in 1990, specializing in painting and sculpture. In 1986, he had a solo exhibition "Kcho Expone Favelas" at the Centre of Plastic Arts in Nueva Gerona. One of KCHO's works from his graduation thesis Paisaje Popular Cubano (Cuban Popular Landscape) (1990) was selected for the permanent collection displayed at the Fine Arts Museum of Cuba (MNBA).
Work KCHO has gained a knowledge of a range of engraving techniques. His interest in this area made him create or restore a series of Engraving Workshops all along Cuba, which facilitated the creative work of artists and students specialised in this branch of the plastic arts in the country.
Brigade "Martha Machado" In 2008, Cuba was hit by hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma, all of which severely affected the country and its socioeconomic infrastructure. Isla de la Juventud suffered heavy damage from Gustav and Ike, and required immediate help.
Founded on September 6, 2008, the group, Brigade "Martha Machado" (including KCHO) organised for more than 500 artists and friends (national and international painters, actors, musicians, dancers, circus performers, and stilt walkers) to leave their jobs and lives to live in tents across 13 camps in Cuba, whilst working in the communities providing painting workshops, music and dance to encourage creativity and educate children and teens who could not attend school because the facilities had been partially destroyed.
In March 2010, members of Brigade "Martha Machado" travelled to Haiti after it had been hit by an earthquake on January 12, 2010, seriously affecting the Caribbean's infrastructure. The group travelled over four thousand kilometres from their base in Port-au-Prince across the country. From the outset, their work placed particular emphasis on children, knowing that they are the most affected by the disaster, and this would have an impact on the future of the country.
Back in Cuba, KCHO travelled to the Isla de la Juventud and continued to organise and develop the Isla de la Juventud Days Mine with the brigade.
In 2008, as a creator of Brigade "Martha Machado", KCHO received (alongside other members), the Flag Feat Labor from the CTC. In 2010, they also received the Commemorative Medal for the Bicentennial of the Republic of Haiti.
KCHO saw this work as significant, and is still working on continuing Brigade "Martha Machado"'s work.
Career
1990s Beyond his studies, KCHO began displaying works in individual and group exhibitions from 1990 onwards.
In 1991, KCHO had his first solo exhibition at the MNBA, as part of their "Artist of the Month" series.
In 1994, KCHO won a scholarship to the Ludwig Foundation for art studies in Aachen, Germany. He was also invited to participate in the 22nd Biennial in São Paulo, Brazil by curator Nelson Aguilar.
In 1995, KCHO participated in the 1st Kwang-Ju Biennial, Korea, where his work won the Grand Prix. By the end of the year, KCHO had met Barbara Gladstone, owner of the Barbara Gladstone Gallery in New York, in Havana. Together, they organised two exhibitions of KCHO's work.
In 1997, KCHO held his show Todo cambia (Everything Changes), organised by Chief Curator Paul Schimmel and Assistant Curator, Alma Ruiz, for the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, California. KCHO could not go to the opening himself because the government of the United States refused his entry visa.
In 1999, KCHO was admitted into the Atelier Calder Residence in Saché, France, after receiving the prize granted by the Calder Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of France. The award allowed him to live and work at the Calder studio with a grant to support the production and promotion of his artwork. The residency ended with an exhibition of his work titled Klder. C.C.C.
2000s
In 2001, KCHO was part of the travelling exhibition Suite Europa 2001, carried out by the Dirección General de la Secretaría de Estado para la Cooperación Internacional y para Iberoamérica (General Management of the State Department for International Cooperation and Latin America) organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, Spain.
In 2003, KCHO collaborated with Cuban singer-songwriter Santiago Feliú using the work Para olvidar as scenery for his concert at the National Theatre of Cuba.
In the early 2000s, KCHO was working more in Cuba, not only in Havana but also in Isla de la Juventud and Matanzas.
In July 2003, KCHO was elected deputy of the Popular Power National Assemblyto represent the people of the Isla de la Juventud and he was reelected in January 2008.
In 2006, KCHO moved to Barcelona for several months to work in a group of choreographies at the workshops of Poligrafa, Spain. There, he prepared his exhibition Paso de Los Vientos (Windward Passage), shown later at the Joan Prats Gallery in Barcelona. He returned to Cuba to create his installation-performance Vive y Deja Vivir (Live and Let Live) for the 9th Biennial of Havana.
Also in 2006, he was invited by the Marlborough Gallery to go to Madrid for the opening of the Chilean artist Claudio Bravo's exhibition. There, he was invited to be part of a group of artists to exhibit at the gallery and its venues in Monte Carlo, Santiago de Chile, Barcelona, Madrid, New York and London. In 2007, he held his first solo exhibition with the Marlborough Gallery called Retrasando lo inevitable (Delaying the Inevitable) at its venue in Madrid, and also participated in other group exhibitions with the gallery. In February 2008, KCHO held the exhibition Cadena de reunificación familiar (Family Reunification Chain) at the Marlborough Gallery in New York, showing work on the theme of migration.
On 3 June 2006, KCHO donated his private collection of Cuban art to the Museo Municipal de la Isla de la Juventud, where his Studio built a Cuban Art Exhibition Hall to contribute to the study and knowledge of national painting. The collection amounts to a total of 52 works by fifteen of the most important Cuban artists, including: Vicente Escobar, Leopoldo Romañanch, Antonio Rodríguez Morey, Eduardo Abela Villareal, Domingo Ramos, Fidelio Ponce de León, Amelia Peláez, Wifredo Lam, Marcelo Pogolotti, Luis Martínez Pedro, René Portocarrero, Mariano Rodríguez, Servando Cabrera, Raúl Martínez, and Antonia Eiriz.
In 2009, KCHO's work focused on the issues of life, man, customs and culture.
In 2009, KCHO received an invitation from Leonor Amarantes to participate in the V Latin American Biennial of Visual Arts in Curitiba, Brazil. For this, he created a large installation, making the classroom of a school and all its property into a great "Archipelago in motion". This work was part of KCHO's Nuclei of Time series.
In March 2009, KCHO participated in the Tenth Havana Biennial. He installed Core Time in the contemporary Cuban art exhibit in the exhibition room Pabexpo B, which also presented works by Luis Gomez, Rene Francisco, Sandra Ramos and The Carpenters among others. KCHO also organised the exhibition Meeting Point in the Convent of St. Francis of Assisi in Havana, where he included several of his works as a carousel that appeared from darkness. Whilst there, he met people including Cai Guo-Qiang (China), Peter Nadin (USA), Patrick Tuttofuoco (Italy), Jane Alexander (South Africa), Tatsuo Miyajima (Japan), AES + F (Russia), Mariana Bunimov (Venezuela), and Patricia Gerber Jallageas Flaminio (Brazil), Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari (Iran-US), Tomas Sanchez, Edgar Hechavarría, Luis Gomez and Yoan Capote (Cuba).
2010s In early 2011, KCHO moved to Europe to participate in two solo exhibitions he organised with the Marlborough Gallery.
Awards
1991 – Prize – National Group of Art Schools' Teachers at the Centre of Plastic Arts and Design 1995 – Grand Prix – Kwang-Ju Biennial 1995 – Prize for the Promotion of Arts – UNESCO 1998 – "National Culture", Ministry of Culture 2001 – Prize for Cuban Delivery – 4th Caribbean Biennial at the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 2003 – Medal "Abel Santamaria" awarded by the State Council on the proposal of the Young Communists (UJC) and the Replica of the Machete of Maximo Gomez 2008 – Order "Julio Antonio Mella", issued by the State Council, proposed by the National UJC 2011 – Stamp commemorating the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC) on the 70th anniversary of its founding.
Exhibitions
Solo YearTitleInstitutionLocationNotesRef1991Artist of the MonthMNBA1995Kcho at the PilarJoan Miró FoundationMajorca1996Kcho1997Todo cambia (Everything Changes)Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)Los Angeles, CaliforniaKcho, Proyectos recientes (Kcho, Recent Projects)Regen Projects Gallery1997Speaking of the Obvious Was Never a Pleasure for UsIsrael Museum, Billy Rose PavilionJerusalem1998Archipiélago de mi pensamiento, Serie Americana, I KchoGalerie Nationale du Jeu De PaumeParis, FranceCurated by Daniel AbadieLargo Viaje (Long Journey)GAN GalleryTokyo, Japan1999Klder. C.C.C Saché, FrancePart of Atelier Calder Residency 2000No me agradezcan el silencio (Don't Thank Me for the Silence)Casa de las AméricasHavana, CubaLa columna infinita (The Infinite Column)National Museum Reina SofiaMadrid, SpainKcho. Dibujos (Kcho. Drawings)Barbara Gladstone GalleryNew York, USA2001Havana, CubaShowed 25 Piedras (25 Stones), lithographsEn el mar no hay nada escrito (There Is Nothing Written on the Sea)Martha Machado GalleryIsla de la Juventud2002La JunglaCivic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary ArtTurin, ItalyLos peligros del Olvido (Perils of Oblivion)Gabriela Mistral GallerySantiago de ChileEl Huracán (Hurricane)Museum of SculptureSão Paulo, BrazilArtíssima 2002Joan Guaita Art GalleryPalma de Mallorca, SpainKcho, el Hijo de Martha (Kcho, Son of Martha)José Martí MemorialHavana, CubaArchipiélago (Archipelago)Maracaibo, Venezuela2004Kcho, viajero inmóvil (Kcho, Still Traveller)Louis Carré GalleryParis, FranceCurated by Daniel AbadieKcho, un hombre de isla (Kcho, an islander)Houston, Texas;Los animales (Animals)Galería HabanaCubaKcho – Casa 5 – Las playas infinitas (Kcho – House 5 – Infinite Beaches)Atteresse KusntSalzburg, Austria2006Paso de Los Vientos (Windward Passage)Joan Prats GalleryBarcelonaLa nave de Kcho (Kcho's Ship)Castillo de Santa Bárbara (Castle of Saint Barbara), Patronato Municipal de AlicanteAlicanteCurated by Pablo Rico from the Joan Miró Foundation2007Retrasando lo inevitable (Delaying the Inevitable)Marlborough GalleryMadridEl Viaje (Journey)Museum of Contemporary ArtPanamaEl Cuadernos del hombre de Los pies de Barro (Notebook of the Man with Mud Feet)GalleryMaracaibo, Venezuela2008Cadena de reunificación familiar (Family Reunification Chain)Marlborough GalleryNew York
Group