Installation view of “Alvaro Barrington: Wave Your Flags: Labor Day”
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TEAMING UP WITH Black female gallerists, Alvaro Barrington is showing paintings in multiple New York locations. “Alvaro Barrington: Wave Your Flags: Labor Day” is the inaugural presentation of Kyla McMillan‘s Saint George Projects. Featuring nearly 30 new works, the pop-up exhibition in Crown Heights pays tribute to the artist’s Caribbean heritage and the local West Indian Day Parade. Held annually on Labor Day, the Brooklyn parade was canceled in 2020, due to the pandemic, and scaled back significantly this year.
Barrington’s paintings reimagine the flags of Caribbean nations. Rife with symbolism, the series employs the Pan-African colors of red, yellow, and green; invokes hibiscus motifs (the national flower of Haiti); and mounted and framed with corrugated steel and reclaimed wood, references materials traditionally used to build Caribbean homes.
Meanwhile, “Alvaro Barrington: Garvey 1: Birth — the Quiet Storm” is on view at Nicola Vassell gallery in Chelsea. The solo show of large-scale paintings is the fourth exhibition presented by Vassell since opening her eponymous Manhattan gallery in May.
In addition, Barrington is collaborating with fellow artist and friend Teresa Farrell. “Tt X AB: The Lot Show” is a special project presented by Blum & Poe and Mendes Wood DM galleries in Far Rockaway, Queens. In residence at the beach, the artists constructed open-air studio shacks in a vacant lot where they are producing and exhibiting work.
Born in Venezuela to Grenadian and Haitian migrant workers, Barrington was raised between the Caribbean and Flatbush, Brooklyn. He currently lives and works in London. CT
“Alvaro Barrington: Wave Your Flags: Labor Day,” Presented by Saint George Projects, is on view at Much More Studio, 258 Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y., from Sept. 5-Oct. 17, 2021
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ALVARO BARRINGTON, “Bahamas.” | Courtesy Saint George Projects
Installation view of “Alvaro Barrington: Wave Your Flags: Labor Day,” Presented by Saint George Projects, Much More Studio, 258 Kingston Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Sept. 5-Oct. 17, 2021). | Courtesy Saint George Projects
ALVARO BARRINGTON, “Virgin Islands, GR BK,” 2021 (oil and acrylic on burlap in artist’s frame, 19.7 x 19.7 inches). | Courtesy Saint George Projects
Installation view of “Alvaro Barrington: Wave Your Flags: Labor Day,” Presented by Saint George Projects, Much More Studio, 258 Kingston Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Sept. 5-Oct. 17, 2021). | Courtesy Saint George Projects
TOP IMAGE: Installation view of “Alvaro Barrington: Wave Your Flags: Labor Day,” Presented by Saint George Projects, Much More Studio, 258 Kingston Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Sept. 5-Oct. 17, 2021). Shown, At left, “The Musicians.” | Courtesy Saint George Projects
FIND MORE about Alvaro Barrington and Kyla McMillan on Instagram
READ MORE about Kyla McMillian joining David Zwirner Gallery as a director on Culture Type
