Carlos Rigau's 'Delusions Through Details' at LMAK Gallery explores artifice and ritual through video sculpture

Cuban-American artist Carlos Rigau, based in Brooklyn and raised in Miami's Little Havana, explores themes of artifice and ritual in his video-sculpture practice. His current solo exhibition "Delusions Through Details" at LMAK Gallery in New York features a two-sided video sculpture housed in Formica display pedestals. One projection shows an urban window view disrupted by editing effects like bubble wrap and strange symbols, while the other depicts a skull being dismantled and reassembled on a workbench. Rigau describes his artistic process as a ritual involving making and destroying within constructed environments, influenced by his Miami upbringing and exposure to African-Caribbean religions like Palo and Santeria. He co-founded and runs General Practice, an experimental Bushwick space, and hosts the cable access show "General Practice Presents" from BRIC studios. During Art Basel Miami in December, he presented work at Meeting House, Pulse Fair with LMAK Gallery, and a cancelled performance for Untitled Fair with Helper Gallery. Rigau views artifice as authentic, citing Las Vegas as an example where facsimiles become lifelike realities. His work engages with Miami's darker aspects—social extremes, sensational headlines, and mystical undercurrents—aiming to create disturbance through everyday materials charged with symbolic meaning.