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Exhibition Archive

Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can't I Alter

February 20 – May 10, 2020

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Red Face Ancestral Vision 1, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, acrylic on canvas, 39 3/4 x 39 1/2 inches (101 x 100.3 cm). Courtesy of Racquel Chevremont, Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Whatever lay ahead he had already accepted, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches (90.2 x 90.2 cm). Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago, He Knight, 2019–20. Spray paint and charcoal on embossed tin. Courtesy of the artist. Photograph by Martin Parsekian

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Origin as Tanty Told Me, 2020. Spray paint, charcoal, oil, acrylic, and pastel on cast paper mounted on Baltic birch. Courtesy of the artist. Photograph by Martin Parsekian

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Semente (Seed), 2019–20. Acrylic, oil, spray paint, charcoal, and pastel on printed textile. Courtesy of the artist. Photograph by Martin Parsekian

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Candy Flipping (Boogoo Pouring the Spell in Sir Dingolay's Ear), 2020. Spray paint, charcoal, oil, acrylic, gold pigment powder, and pastel on cast paper mounted on Baltic birch. Courtesy of the artist. Photograph by Martin Parsekian

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Saint Monix Mumala to the Lost and In Need, 2020. Paint, spray paint, and charcoal on canvas. Courtesy of the artist. Photograph by Martin Parsekian

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Redface Ancestor Rock II, 2017. Spray paint and hard pastel on found rock, 68 x 28 x 24 inches (172.7 x 71.1 x 61 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago, A morte do cavaleiro prateado, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 35 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches (90.2 x 90.2 cm). Private collection, Image courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago, African Knight I, 2018. Wire and beads on steel armature, 82 x 24 x 24 inches (208.3 x 61 x 61 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago, Artist as knight (self portrait), 2018. Mixed media diorama in reclaimed jewelry box, 2 1/4 x 2 x 2 1/2 inches (5.7 x 5.1 x 6.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago, The Four of Them Made a Promise, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 85 x 76 1/2 inches (215.9 x 194.3 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago, A Luz, 2018. Spray paint, oil, charcoal, pastel, and acrylic on canvas, 27 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches (69.9 x 50.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Rachel Uffner Gallery

Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can't I Alter is the first exhibition devoted to the Canadian-Trinidadian artist’s drawing practice, which has expanded significantly in recent years. Throughout his work, Santiago grapples with “genetic imagination,” or the ability to access generational knowledge through imaginative recollection and projection. For the artist, this method serves as a means of wading through histories lost, hidden, and often tangled. In Can’t I Alter, Santiago creates a multi-faceted narrative in an immersive, drawing-filled installation that explores the theme of ancestry and the necessity of preserving the past while acknowledging the fallacies implicit in historical recollection. As viewers explore the space, they join Santiago and his alter ego, the J’ouvert Knight, in an attempt to locate a diasporic ancestor whose existence cannot ever be fully grasped. A newly commissioned film accompanies the installation, as well as performances organized by Santiago.

Organized by Claire Gilman, Chief Curator, with Isabella Kapur, Curatorial Assistant.

Curtis Talwst Santiago

Curtis Talwst Santiago (b. 1979, Edmonton, Alberta) studied as an apprentice of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. Santiago has exhibited internationally at venues such as The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY; The New Museum, New York, NY; The Eli and Edythe Broad Museum at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; the Institute of Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada; The Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; and the SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA; among others. The artist was included in the SITE Santa Fe SITELines.2018 Biennial, Casa Tomada, in Santa Fe, NM and was featured in the 2018 Biennale de Dakar in Dakar, Senegal. His work is in the permanent collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY.

Credits

Curtis Talwst Santiago: Can't I Alter is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Generous support is provided by Rachel Uffner Gallery, William A. and Pamela K. Royall, Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, and the Consulate General of Canada in New York.

Additional support is provided by Cathy and Jonathan Miller; Barbara Polla; Carol Saper; Carla Shen and Christopher Schott; Isabel Stainow Wilcox; Anonymous; Cooper Cole, Toronto; Rashid Johnson and Sheree Hovsepian; Ruth Roberts; Liz Dimmitt and Piers Davies; Susan and Randolph Randolph; and Tiffany Hott.

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