“I live on an island. My limit is liquid. To cross, I’m obliged to use something that floats. It’s natural for someone who never leaves Cuba to stand on the sea wall and ask what is on the other side. A boat is an ancient human invention. I don’t think there is another mode of human transport that says more about people.” - KCHO
Kcho (born Alexis Leyva Machado in 1970), a Cuban sculptor and installation artist from Isla de la Juventud, crafts monumental works from recycled materials like wood, propellers, and fishing nets to address themes of migration, exile, nostalgia, and human resilience, often evoking boats and rafts as symbols of precarious journeys amid socio-political upheaval. Graduating from Havana's National School of Plastic Arts, he gained global acclaim with awards including the Gwangju Biennale Grand Prize and UNESCO's Prize for the Promotion of Plastic Arts, exhibiting at institutions like MoMA, Tate Modern, and biennials in Venice, São Paulo, and Havana. Founder of the Martha Machado Artists Brigade, which provides art-based humanitarian aid in disaster-struck areas, his practice blends conceptual depth with cultural critique, with pieces in collections such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and Walker Art Center.