Attending the recent contemporary art fair, Pulse, held at New York’s Pier 40, one of my favorite installation was Rubén Torres Llorca’s storytelling. Stepping into the presentation, you definitely experience his documentary style. Read his artist statement from Cuba Art New York.
In my work dramatic art is as important as the icon. From Borges, Bioy Casares, Cortázar, Arreola and Chico Buarque I have learned to love short stories. Afro-Cuban tradition has taught me the use of the emblem, the construction of the altar, the dramatic importance of space, the preference of tridimentional representation and fragmentation. I owe the Mexican craftsman the preference for simple materials. My influences came from sociology and architecture, as well as from visual arts. The production of one of my installations is very similar to the activity performed by a documentary or an amateur film director, where one person alone produces, writes the script, is in charge of photography, and is his/her own director.
I sincerely believe that the best communication is established between two persons that have lived similar experiences. My intention, is to create a bullring, an interactive space, that reproduces the essencial elements that constitute my experience, in order that there, the space turns into protagonist, as from his own personality and particular experience.
Ruben Torres Llorca
