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You are here: Home1 / Reynier Leyva Novo

Reynier Leyva Novo

Newsletter Text, 2017-2018 – Newsletter Text, 2014-2015

Reynier Leyva Novo is one of Cuba’s leading conceptual artists. He belongs to a generation too young to have witnessed the Revolution but exposed as children to the privations following the 1991 end of economic support from the Soviet Union. His multidisciplinary practice is grounded in his scrutiny of historical data and official documents in order to unearth content that he transforms into formally minimalist and conceptually charged work.

His 2012 series The desire to die for others cast in blocks of clear resin weapons used by various Cuban leaders in the country’s long struggles for independence. This new translucent materiality robbed these objects of any sense of historical sanctification by neutralizing the ideological construction around them. Collages from his more recent The Extension of Words series uses mundane details of grammar and language from the official newspaper of the Cuban government as the nexus of geometric compositions that challenge platitudes and hint at alternative interpretations. In this way, Novo’s work delineates an uneasy dialogue between official history and lived experience.

Trained in Cuba under Tania Bruguera’s acclaimed performance art program, Arte de Conducta, Novo’s work has been shown internationally in the Liverpool Biennial (2010), the Venice Biennale (2011 and 2017), the Sorocaba Triennial of Arts in Brazil (2017) and the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA exhibition Deconstructing Liberty, A Destiny Manifested (2017). It is collected by the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Walker Art Center, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Perez Art Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, and Museum of Fine Arts Houston. In 2022, Novo was awarded the Pommery Prize for “What it is, what it has been” at The Armory Show.

2023 Press Release: Reynier Leyva Novo – The Flowers of My Exile

S.O.U.P. (Survival Objects Under Pressure)

S.O.U.P. (Survival Objects Under Pressure) is made with gleaming columns of spoons engraved with the writings of international political dissidents throughout the 20th century who have participated in hunger strikes as a means of protest. Implemented in part to honor Novo’s friend and fellow artist, Luis Manuel Otero Alacantra, who nearly died while striking in Cuba, the piece is deceptively simple and poignant in its portrayal of the struggles and rewards of individuals who stand up to impersonal and often violent regimes, with statements of protest occupying the depressions in the spoons where food might have been. “Between my love for freedom and my love for my friend, I decided to make this piece,” Novo remarks.

Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survival Objects Under Pressure), 2018-2023, installation view, 260 spoons, overall dimensions variable, 96" x 144" as shown
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survival Objects Under Pressure), 2018-2023, installation view, with detail, 260 spoons, overall dimensions variable
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survival Objects Under Pressure)
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - Communist Countries), 2023, engraved stainless steel spoons, 7.25" x 1.25" each spoon, 12.75" x 36.25" framed, contact gallery for list of text on each spoon
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - Communist Countries)
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - Cuba), 2023, engraved stainless steel spoons, 7.25" x 1.25" each spoon, contact gallery for list of text on each spoon
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - Cuba)
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - China), 2023, engraved stainless steel spoons, 7.25" x 1.25" each spoon, contact gallery for list of text on each spoon
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - China)
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 6 - Vaclav Havel), 2023, engraved stainless steel spoons, 7.25" x 1.25" each spoon, contact gallery for list of text on each spoon
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 6 - Vaclav Havel)
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 8 - Saharov), 2023, engraved stainless steel spoons, 7.25" x 1.25" each spoon, contact gallery for list of text on each spoon
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 8 - Saharov)
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - U.S.S.R.), 2023, engraved stainless steel spoons, 7.25" x 1.25" each spoon, contact gallery for list of text on each spoon
Reynier Leyva Novo - S.O.U.P. (Survial Objects Under Pressure) (Set of 12 - U.S.S.R.)

Blank Check series

In Blank Check: About how to empty the mind – a series of “miniperformances” documented on celluloid film and set throughout the city of Havana –  Novo acts out the ephemera of daydream in absurdist black and white tableau, each with a simple text description.

Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To read the national newspaper while sitting in the corner of 23rd and 12th streets), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To read the national newspaper while sitting in the corner of 23rd and 12th streets)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To drink morning coffee sitting in front of the Revolution Square), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To drink morning coffee sitting in front of the Revolution Square)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To push a column of the National Capitol as a systematic anti-systemic physical exercise), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To push a column of the National Capitol as a systematic anti-systemic physical exercise)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To cover the sun with a finger), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To cover the sun with a finger)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To head up in front of the altar of a church, This earth is our only heaven), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 24 x 18 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To head up in front of the altar of a church, This earth is our only heaven)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To lie on the hammock a whole day without touching the floor on the election's day in Cuba), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To lie on the hammock a whole day without touching the floor on the election's day in Cuba)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To stay in a theater attentive to a non existent work), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To stay in a theater attentive to a non existent work)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To take a nap over the grave of...), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To take a nap over the grave of...)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To sweep the Cuatro Caminos supermarket (The Tiger Hall)), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To sweep the Cuatro Caminos supermarket (The Tiger Hall))
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To give a flower to a police officer), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To give a flower to a police officer)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To pee in the corner of the National Bank), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To pee in the corner of the National Bank)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To ride a taxi - Dodge 1958 - by the right door. Get out of the taxi through the left door), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To ride a taxi - Dodge 1958 - by the right door. Get out of the taxi through the left door)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To cover up a work at the National Museum of Fine Arts (Tania Bruguera, Statistics, 1996)), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, diptych: 2 @ 18 x 22 inches each unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (To cover up a work at the National Museum of Fine Arts (Tania Bruguera, Statistics, 1996))
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (La Rampa, 23rd Ave and M street, Havana. To walk backwards in front of a Cuba Libre! sign), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, 18 x 22 inches unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (La Rampa, 23rd Ave and M street, Havana. To walk backwards in front of a Cuba Libre! sign)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (Menu in 8 times at Grados restaurant. To taste a dinner without touching it), 2020, 35 mm photograph, archival print on Hahnemuhle photo rag Baryta paper, diptych: 2 @ 18 x 22 inches each unframed, edition of 3
Reynier Leyva Novo - Blank Check - About how to empty the mind (Menu in 8 times at Grados restaurant. To taste a dinner without touching it)

Manifest Destiny: The Weight of the Land

Novo recently invented a program capable of formulating the weight, volume, and area of ink used in printed documents. Manifest Destiny: The Weight of the Land depicts two stark cartographic versions of the USA: the first shows the contiguous collection of twelve states at the time of the Constitution’s signing in 1787; then, following a series of black squares depicting the amount of ink contained in the five territorial treaties signed from 1803 to 1898, a second map reveals the sprawling geography of American imperialism as it encroached westward across the continent. Between maps, in the slick lacunae of the five intervening black squares, we see the subsumption of peoples and cultures whose bodies and habitats became objects of commercial exchange for colonial powers, apportioned out through measures of ink.

Reynier Leyva Novo - Destino manifesto, El pesa de la Tierra (Manifest Destiny, The Weight of the Land), 2016, lithographic ink on wall, text
Reynier Leyva Novo - Destino manifesto, El pesa de la Tierra (Manifest Destiny, The Weight of the Land)

Sculpture

Reynier Leyva Novo - yo declaro bajo protesta ques soy libre (I declare under protest that I am free)
Reynier Leyva Novo - El peso de la Muerte (The Weight of Death)
Reynier Leyva Novo - El peso de la Muerte (The Weight of Death) (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - El peso de la Muerte (The Weight of Death) (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Glass Kiss II
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Glass Kiss II (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Glass Kiss
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Glass Kiss (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - LoLos olores de la guerra (The Scents of War) Installation view
Reynier Leyva Novo - Los olores de la guerra (The Scents of War)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Revolucion: Una y Mil Veces (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Revolucion: Una y Mil Veces (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others, 2012, cast in polyester resin from the original objects, sizes vary
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Antonio Maceo (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original object, 32.5 by 2 by 1 inches Belonged to Major General Antonio Maceo y Grajales. On the hilt is inscribed “Invasion of Maceo 1895”
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Antonio Maceo (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Maximo Gomez (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original object, 27 by 4 by 1.5 inches Was a gift from José Martí to Major General Máximo Gómez, and used by the latter during the War of 1895–1898
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Maximo Gomez (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Quintin Bandera (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original object, 32 by 4.5 by x 1 inches Belonged to Division General José Quintino Bandera Betancourt (Quintín Bandera)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Quintin Bandera (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Manuel Sanguily (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original object, 30.25 by 2 by 1 inches Belonged to Colonel Manuel Sanguily
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Machete: Manuel Sanguily (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Revolver: Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original object, 10 by 5 by 1.5 inches, Belonged to President of the Republic of Cuba in Arms Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. With this revolver he fired three shots on encountering the Spanish troops in Yara, the following day to begin the Ten Years War in 1868
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Revolver: Carlos Manuel de Cespedes (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Revolver: Calixto Garcia Iniguez (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original object, 11.5 by 6 by 2 inches, Belonged to Major General Calixto García Iñiguez
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Revolver: Calixto Garcia Iniguez (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Revolver: Jose Marti (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original object, 12.25 by 4 by 1.75 inches, Was a gift from Panchito Gómez Toro to José Martí in the United States. It is known as Colt Frontier or “Peacemaker”
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Revolver: Jose Marti (detail)
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Bullet: Francisco (Panchito) Gomez Toro (detail), 2012, cast in polyester resin from original objects, 1 by 0.5 inch, This bullet wounded Panchito Gómez Toro in the chest and was found during the exhumation of his body
Reynier Leyva Novo - The Desire to Die for Others: Bullet: Francisco (Panchito) Gomez Toro (detail)

The Flowers of My Exile

“The Flowers of My Exile” is a series containing color photographs of wildflowers that I’ve found since I left Cuba on July 2, 2021. The collection includes the entire route of my trip, starting with Spain, then Mexico, and finally the United States. The series is a way of telling my journey of exile through the flowers of the road.  – Reynier Leyva Novo

Above: Reynier Leyva Novo, The Flowers of My Exile, 2023, photographs on Epson Metallic photo paper, mounted to Epson cotton rag paper, 40 images, 10″ x 19″ each unframed

Works on Paper

Reynier Leyva Novo - 1959, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - 1959
Reynier Leyva Novo - Comunista / Communist, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Comunista / Communist
Reynier Leyva Novo - Guerra / War, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Guerra / War
Reynier Leyva Novo - Hombre / Man, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Hombre / Man
Reynier Leyva Novo - Hoy / Today, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Hoy / Today
Reynier Leyva Novo - Ley / Law, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Ley / Law
Reynier Leyva Novo - Luz / Light, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Luz / Light
Reynier Leyva Novo - Mundo / World, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Mundo / World
Reynier Leyva Novo - Norte / North, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Norte / North
Reynier Leyva Novo - Perro / Dog, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Perro / Dog
Reynier Leyva Novo - Pueblo / Town, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Pueblo / Town
Reynier Leyva Novo - Real, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Real
Reynier Leyva Novo - Si / Yes, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Si / Yes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Sol / Sun, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Sol / Sun
Reynier Leyva Novo - Terrorista / Terrorist, 2017, newspaper clipping, gold graphite, acid free paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Terrorista / Terrorist
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes No. 32 (Monoculture)
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes, 2015, newspaper clippings collage on paper, 17 by 14 inches
Reynier Leyva Novo - Margin Notes

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Merryn Omotayo AlakaMerryn Omotayo Alaka - Snatched! (SOLD), 2021, pony beads, braided Kanekalon hair, 65 by 33 inches
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