Born in Havana, Cuba in 1955.
Has lived and worked in Ghent, Belgium since 1990.
Ricardo Brey is a Cuban-born visual artist. His artistic roots lie in the 1970s and 1980s then active member of the group Volumen I today synonym for the emergence of a new generation of avant-garde artists in Cuba after the revolution of 1959. After extensive travelings Brey move to Europe were live and work and since 1990. The invitation to participate in Documenta IX in Kassel was the starting point for Brey to move to Belgium. Among other recognitions Brey had received in 1998 the Prize from the Flemish Ministry of Culture and a Guggenheim Fellowship for installation Art and Sculpture. From 2002 onward Brey make a turn of the wheel in his way of working, always looking for new approaches towards art he has committed himself to the development and presentations of large projects, “Universe”, “Annex” and “Every life is a fire”; that was presented in its totality as part of the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, All the World’s Futures.
Brey’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including Gap in the Clouds, Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium (2022); Adrift, Gerhard-Marcks-Haus, Bremen, Germany and Museum De Domijnen, Sittard, the Netherlands (2019); Fuel to the Fire, Museum van HedendaagseKunst Antwerpen (M HKA), Antwerp, Belgium (2015); BREY, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba (2014); Universe, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK), Ghent, Belgium (2006–2007); Ricardo Brey, Hanging around, GEM, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Hague, the Netherlands (2004); Sources, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Crestet, France (2000); Kunstverein Salzburg, Austria (1997); Galleria Civica, Palazzina dei Giardini, Comune di Modena, Italy (1996); Vereniging voorhet Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Ghent, Belgium (1993); and El Origin de las Especies, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba (1981). He has also participated in many group shows,including Juan Francisco Elso: Por América, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY (2022); travelled to Phoenix Art Museum, AZ and Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, FL (both 2023); 56th Venice Biennale, All the World’s Futures, curated by Okwui Enwezor (2015); Artesur, Collective Fictions, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (2013); Trattenendosi at the 48th Venice Biennale, Italy (1999); Universalis at the23rd São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (1996); Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany (1992); and Volumen I, Centro Internacional de Arte de La Habana, Cuba (1981). He is the recipient of many awards and grants, including the Prize for Visual Arts from the Flemish Ministry of Culture (1998) and a Guggenheim Fellowship for Sculpture and Installation (1997).
Brey’s work is featured in global public and private collections, including the Bouwfonds Art Collection, The Hague, the Netherlands; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba; CERA Art Collection, Leuven, Belgium; Collection of Pieter and Marieke Sanders, Haarlem, the Netherlands; Collection de La Province de Hainaut, Belgium; de la Cruz Collection, Miami, FL; Fonds national d’art contemporain (FNAC), France; Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, Miami, FL; Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany; Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection, Mount Kisco, NY; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Havana, Cuba; Museum de Domijnen, Sittard, the Netherlands; Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (M HKA), Belgium; Nova South-eastern University (NSU) Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, FL; Province of East Flanders Monuments and Cultural Heritage, Belgium; Sindika Dokolo Foundation, Luanda, Angola; Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK), Ghent, Belgium; Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, Germany; Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, and others.
Ricardo Brey is represented by Galerie Tanit Beirut/Munich.
