Maxwell Rabb (Artsy) reviews the work of Cuban artist Alejandro Piñeiro Bello in “Rising Painter Alejandro Piñeiro Bello Makes a Bold London Debut with Ethereal Landscapes.” Piñeiro Bello’s debut exhibition at Pace Gallery, “Entre el día y la noche,” is still on view for a few more days, through Saturday, September 28, 2024. [Also see our previous post Exhibition: Entre el día y la noche.] Here are excerpts from Artsy.
Alejandro Piñeiro Bello discovered his love for art at four years old in his stepfather’s sculpture studio in Havana, Cuba. Filled with an eclectic mix of oil paints, ceramic masks, and sculptures, the studio was a playground for creative expression and exploration for the young Piñeiro Bello. “I discovered paradise when I saw that studio,” Piñeiro Bello told Artsy from Miami, where he lives now.
Now 34, Piñeiro Bello channels the transformative experiences in his stepfather’s studio into his paintings. In particular, his work El Misterio De La Noche (2024) portrays this pivotal transition by depicting an adult figure leading a child across a sprawling, otherworldly terrain dotted with swirling colors and dreamlike forms. It mirrors the artist’s childlike wonder and his evolution from protégé to mentor: “There is an adult taking a child into the realm of the unknown, into the realm of imagination, which is essentially what I try to do every day.” This massive work anchors his London debut at Pace Gallery, “Entre El Día Y La Noche,” on view from September 4th through 28th. [. . .]
For Piñeiro Bello, the Cuban landscape—from its oceanside horizons to sunlit forests—is so rich with inspiration that he feels a kinship with the artists who have traversed these environments before him. He sees his own creative process as a continuation of their legacy and discoveries.
“In the methodological parts of the painting, I started realizing that I’m doing a line—a curve that is portraying how light hits a tree, for example — I realize why Wifredo Lam did certain things in his paintings,” said Piñeiro Bello. “It’s a realization—a connection…now I understand why [for] this artist—from a particular place called Cuba—this came to his mind.” [. . .]
“After years of using the spiral as a symbol of infinite growth, I started realizing that many artists and mythological stories reference it extensively,” said Piñeiro Bello. “One day, I was listening to [Cuban novelist] Alejo Carpentier reading a passage about a man appreciating a spiral shell on a beach, and I realized this shell was a perfect analogy for life itself.” [. . .]
For full review, visit https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-rising-painter-alejandro-pineiro-bello-bold-london-debut-ethereal-landscapes