Artist: Abel Herrero

Dangerous Games is the first exhibition in France by the Cuban-born artist Abel Herrero, who has been working in Italy for the past 30 years. It forms part of the gallery’s contemporary program, which is committed to showcasing emerging talent from the Italian art scene alongside the great names of the post-war period.

In his studio in the Tuscan countryside, Herrero produces large-scale canvases exploring the relationship between humans and the natural world. Starting with pure color, he gradually desaturates the layers of oil paint, to arrive at the bare canvas. In this way, he unveils seemingly innocuous subjects—a portrait, a landscape or an animal—behind which lies a powerful message testifying to the artist’s strong social and political commitment. The latter is revealed over time, as the viewers’ gaze moves in and out of the monumental canvases.

The sea as a subject is of particular significance to the artist, both in a personal and universal sense. Ever-present on his native island, it is at once an insurmountable obstacle, and the embodiment of freedom and hope. A place of holiday and carefree-living, it also bears the brunt of the consequences of the excesses of modern life. This is the paradox that the artist will explore with his Black Sea Games installation on the gallery’s ground floor. Long canvases in shades of gray will line the walls, while eight marble spheres will rest on the floor, like unmovable balls that seem to have calcified on an abandoned beach.

Downstairs, the electrifying hue with which Herrero will imbue the space illuminates an equally layered scene. Each canvas is specially conceived for the gallery and will be mounted in situ, forming a single installation, entitled Green Temptation. The message emerging through the various perspectives, from the most minute detail to the all-encompassing atmosphere, reminds us of the weight of human decisions and the fragility of the world around us.

Born in Cuba in 1971, Herrero traveled to Milan for his first international exhibition at the age of 23. From then on, he settled permanently in Italy, where he forged friendships with a wide circle of artists and intellectuals, including the masters of the previous generation, such as Claudio Parmiggiani, with whom he exhibited in 2023 at the Museo del Novecento in Florence. Herrero has also presented his work at the Venice Biennale (2011), the MAXXI in Rome (2014) and the Havana Biennale (2015). Today, he continues to exhibit in Italy and Cuba, promoting cultural exchange between the two countries.