LUIS XERTU Mexico City, 1985 Lives and works in Rotterdam, NL Luis Xertu moved from Mexico to the Netherlands in 2004 and graduated from the Rietveld Academy in 2009. He further developed his visual language working within the performing arts, where he set pieces that experimented with the mediums of theater and dance. These scenic artworks have been shown at the Dutch pavilion in Venice for the Carnevale dei Ragazzi and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. Xertu’s art combines the analogue and the digital, photographing and painting models, using Photoshop to decide on compositions, and meticulously collaging plants directly onto the canvas to create large-scale paintings with stark compositions. Drawing from mythological and historical references, he explores themes of time and ageing, incorporating the decay of real plants as elements of transformation, which can take several years to happen. Xertu was nominated for the Dutch Royal Award for Modern Painting 2019 and was awarded the Audience Award. Exhibitions
2024 – Podium Gallery, HK 'History Will Say We Were Best Friends' - Group Show 2024 – NL=US Art Gallery Rotterdam, NL 'At The Fringe' - Duo Show 2024 – TORCH Gallery Amsterdam, NL '40 Years of TORCH' - Group Show 2024 – Art Rotterdam, NL - Group presentation 2023 – Art Island Amsterdam, NL - Duo presentation 2023 – TORCH Gallery Amsterdam, NL 'In Nature Nobody Would Care For You Either' - Solo show 2022 – Fragment Gallery New York City, USA 'A Room Full of Mirrors' - Group show 2022 – BRUTUS Rotterdam, NL 'Wild Summer of Art – Part II' - Group show 2022 – Galerie Du Monde Hong Kong, HK 'Retrograde' - Group show 2021 – MOYA Museum of Young Art Oosterhout, NL 'Opening MOYA' - Group show 2021 – Art Rotterdam, NL - Duo presentation 2020 – Tropicana / Pottage Foundation Rotterdam, NL 'Tropicana Fest' - Group show 2020 – TORCH Gallery Amsterdam, NL 'Renditions of Impermanence' - Solo show 2019 – Royal Palace Amsterdam, NL 'Royal Award for Modern Painting 2019' - Group show 2019 – WTC Rotterdam Gallery, NL 'An Unexpected View' - Group show 2018 – Gloss Gallery Tel Aviv, IL - Solo show |