SAN GIMIGNANO.- Galleria Continua is presenting Ruido Blanco (White Noise), in its exhibition spaces in San Gimignano, a solo show by Yoan Capote, one of the most emblematic figures of the rich and vibrant contemporary Cuban art scene. Internationally acclaimed, the artist currently lives between Cuba and Madrid.
Ruido Blanco invites us to reflect on the alienation and resignation experienced by individuals in contemporary society. The title, which refers to a constant, unvarying sound that blocks our connection to the outside world, serves as a metaphor for the social isolation, political stagnation, and collective introspection currently felt in Cuba.
In contrast, the works in this exhibition aim to awaken our deepest sensibilities and stir our emotions, making us aware of the dullness, demotivation, apathy, and emotional numbness that may be ingrained in our behavior.
Each piece represents a silenced cry, a lament drowned out by the white noise surrounding us, a constant drone that keeps us submerged in emotional lethargy. Using highly symbolic materials and collaborative creative processes, these works invite us to explore the complexity of our own emotions, memories, and thoughts, reminding us of the importance of confronting the alienation and estrangement that threaten our humanity.
For the first time, this exhibition presents works from the series Litoral (Shoreline) 2025, landscapes where the horizon almost disappears at the top edge of the painting, and where the artist incorporates sharp reef stones (dogtooth crystals) collected from the Cuban coast. In these seascapes, Capote recreates the perspective of those who have stopped looking toward the horizon, accepting its reef-ridden shore; those who have lost hope for the future and resigned themselves to the present; those who merely wander or try to escape while facing the endless water fading between sharp rocks.
Formally, these works, with their diminished horizon, visually reference Monet’s iconic water lilies. But symbolically, no flowers appear here; where Monet painted delicate water lilies floating on water, Capote affixes heavy, sharp reef stones alongside sea imagery. This ironic artistic choice contrasts Monet’s idyllic scenes with Capote’s portrayal of the drama, hardship, and pain experienced by those confronting their reality and geography.
Ruido Blanco also features works from the well-known series Islas and Purificación. Islas recreates seascapes using oil paint and fishhooks, while Purificación repurposes chains, barbed wire, handcuffs, and other metal debris into new forms that express deconstruction, tension, aggression, and control. The creative process behind these works is documented in a video shown at the gallery, offering powerful insight into their meaning. Additionally, the show includes recent and earlier installations and sculptures, as well as drawings from the series Sentimientos encontrados, based on electrocardiograms collected by the artist from various Cubans, expressing the fragmentation of Cuban society caused by grief and frustration.
Yoan Capote was born in Pinar del Río, Cuba, in 1977. He graduated from the National School of Art in 1995 and the Higher Institute of Art in Havana in 2001. He has received honors such as the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (2006), the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Prize (2006), and the Vermont Studio Center Fellowship (2002). At the 7th Havana Biennial (2000), he was awarded the UNESCO Prize alongside the DUPP artists’ collective. His work has been shown at the Cuban Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011) and the Sydney Biennale (2022).
Notable exhibitions include Ouro Branco, Territorio at Pavilhões da Mitra, Lisbon, Portugal (2025); Espinario, Galleria Continua, Paris (2024); This far and further (2023), Museum Voorlinden, The Netherlands; Escala Humana, Galleria Continua, Havana (2002); Landlors Color, Cranbrook Art Museum, Michigan, USA (2019); Sujeto Omitido, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy (2019); Baggage Claims, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota (2019); Ola Cuba, Gare Saint Sauveur, Lille, France (2018); Cuban Art, traveling exhibition co-organized by Mid America Arts Alliance and the Center for Cuban Studies, NYC (2018); Cuba mi amor, Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, France (2017); Art x Cuba, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany (2017); Overseas, Center for Contemporary Art Halle 14, Leipzig, Germany (2017); Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA and The Getty, Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, CA, USA (2017); On the Horizon: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection, Pérez Art Museum Miami (2017); Adios Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art, 1950-2015, traveling exhibition at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C., and The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2017); and Cuba Libre, Ludwig Museum, Koblenz (2016).
