Alvaro Barrington's Milan Show Blends Black Identity and Arte Povera

Alvaro Barrington's second solo exhibition at MASSIMODECARLO in Milan, titled 'My Mama Told Me You Was a Problem Bitch,' runs through an unspecified date. The Venezuelan-born, London-based artist (selected for the 2024 Tate Britain Commission) presents three series of works that fuse personal and collective cultural narratives using unconventional materials like jute rope, cement, denim, and plastic milk crates. The show's title references 1990s rap as a symbol of resistance. One series, 'Stain Glass,' pays homage to Kobe Bryant, using shaped cardboard panels framed in milk crates filled with colored glass and backlit, inspired by Willem de Kooning's gestural brushwork. Another series features horizontal and vertical jute rope evoking American landscapes and the slave trade, with cement slabs framed in denim bearing delicate pencil drawings of dogs, pigeons, bulls, and deer—inspired by Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man.' A third series uses layered cement on torn and painted cardboard, referencing Josef Albers, Matisse, and Lucio Fontana, framed in denim and steel rebar. Barrington's work connects Arte Povera, hip-hop, and influences from Picasso and Goya.