'Painting continues to be viable': Enrique Martinez Celaya on his sugar-coated show at the Wende Museum

"Filling the Wende's main gallery space, The Sextant centres on a full-scale re-creation of the artist's childhood home, a small Modernist house designed by his father. Everything has been coated with 6,500lbs of sugar, reflecting its industrial production in his hometown. A horse sculpture in front of the house pulls a sleigh piled with sugar, transported to the top of the house via a conveyor belt and crashing through the roof."

"The Sextant reflects the impact of the Cold War and Cuban history on the artist and his family. It is suffused with themes of memory, exile and the passage of time. In and around the building are paintings and drawings, with elements drawn from young Enrique's letters to his father, who was able to resettle in Spain ahead of the rest of the family."

"Because this house was built between 1957 and 1963-the height of the Cold War, right? The embargo, the missile crisis, all of that. Here, it's speaking with the Wende's Cold War collection and all that history, which informed our entire experience of the period."

Enrique Martínez Celaya's trilogy of exhibitions spanning a decade explores his childhood in Cuba through increasingly ambitious installations. The final exhibition at the Wende Museum in Culver City features a full-scale recreation of his childhood Modernist home, designed by his father. The entire structure is coated with 6,500lbs of sugar, referencing industrial production in his hometown. A horse sculpture pulls a sleigh of sugar transported via conveyor belt through the roof. The installation incorporates paintings, drawings, and elements from young Enrique's letters to his father, who emigrated to Spain before the rest of the family. The work reflects Cold War and Cuban history's profound impact, addressing themes of memory, exile, and temporal passage.

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