ALVARO BARRINGTON

b. 1983 in Caracas, Venezuela

Lives and works between New York and London.

 

Alvaro Barrington was born to Grenadian and Haitian parents and raised between the Caribbean and New York; and since graduating has spent time living between New York and London. Informed by his personal experience, Barrington’s practice explores interconnected histories of cultural production. His most ongoing ‘GARVEY’ series examines the cultural exchanges of early 20th century London and the Harlem Renaissance— both sites of large-scale migration from the Caribbean at the height of Modernism – and their ongoing influence on artistic output and notions of self-hood, sexuality, the soul, identity, nurture and community. Considering himself primarily a painter, Barrington’s multimedia approach to image-making employs burlap, textiles, postcards and clothing, exploring how materials themselves can function as visual tools while referencing their personal, political and commercial histories.

 

Alvaro Barrington studied at Hunter College in New York (2010-2013) and graduated with an MFA in painting from the Slade School of Art in 2017. Following his graduation, Barrington presented his first solo exhibition at MoMA PS1, curated by Klaus Biesenbach, for which his London studio was re-installed in its entirety at the institution (2017).

 

Recent solo exhibitions include Uncle A/Eat the Cake, San Bastiaun Chapel, Zuoz, Switzerland (2025); GRACE, Tate Britain Commission, London (2024); Spider the Pig, Pig the Spider, South London Gallery (2021); Wave Your Flags, The Tabernacle, London (2021).  

He has been included in group exhibitions including 10 YEARS G2 KUNSTHALLE, Works from the Hildebrand Collection, G2 Kunsthalle, Leipzig, Germany (2025), 50-90: The Tenth Anniversary of the Long Museum, Long Museum (Westbund), Shanghai, China (2025), Air de repos (Breathwork), CAPC Musée d'art contemporain Bordeaux, France (2025), Studio of the South, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, Arles (2023); THINGS THAT ARE REAL: ALVARO BARRINGTON X DEAN CROSS, Cement Fondu, Paddington (2023); The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, Baltimore Museum of Art (2023); The Drawing Centre Show, Le Consortium, Dijon (2022); Testament, Goldsmiths CCA, London (2022); Drawing Biennial 2021, Drawing Room and Cromwell Place, London (2021); 100 Drawings From Now, The Drawing Center, New York (2020); No horizon, no edge to liquid, Zabludowicz Collection, London (2020). In addition to this, Barrington has contributed to the annual Notting Hill Carnival with various community-focused events on three occasions; most recently he collectively formed the Emelda’s Junction performance space at the Powis Square Stage and created a sound system for a performance truck hosting the Mangrove Mas Band in 2023.