Kcho

Kcho (Alexis Leyva Machado, b. 1970, Nueva Gerona, Isla de Pinos, Cuba) is a Cuban artist who began his artistic training on his native island before moving to Havana, where he completed his studies and continues to live and work. He emerged on the Cuban art scene in the early 1990s with a highly distinctive style. In a decade marked by growing migration from the island, his work gravitated toward that theme, portraying the drama of Cuban migration and, above all, the perilous voyage by sea. He builds his sculptures, installations and drawings from the materials of that journey, such as inner tubes, boats, oars, fishermen's nets and hooks. Today he is regarded as one of the most important artists of his generation. His work is held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.