'Keeping It Real' Solo Show by CB Hoyo at Imitate Modern in February 2018
Imitate Modern presents the first London solo exhibition dedicated to the Cuban-born artist CB Hoyo. A self-trained artist - “I started painting before I could walk” – CB Hoyo creates work that playfully questions artistic authenticity and monetary value in an era defined by fake news and social media. Keeping It Real, opening on 8 February, will present around 20 “new fakes” by the artist, inspired by the work of artists including Cy Twombly, Rene Magritte, Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
CB Hoyo's prolific output across an array of mediums and materials - from monumental works of spray-painted street art, to works on canvas and installation - has seen the young artist rapidly achieve international notoriety. Combining humorous, satirical slogans with his own painterly renditions of art historical masterpieces, the artist first gained a dedicated audience through sharing his art on his Instagram feed. Today, he receives commissions for murals and installations across the globe and has been named as one of the top 10 art world stars by Artnet. Recent murals include those created at Bayahibe in the Dominican Republic, at Miami's legendary Wynwood Walls during the 2017 Art Basel in Miami Beach art fair, and at COYA London's Picadilly.
CB Hoyo's paintings are both playful and provocative. "People forget that art is a way of expression, of having fun and that is should bring joy" he says, and his paintings satirise an art world that is often seen to celebrate monetary value about all else. Slogans are scrawled over familiar works by the likes of Rothko, Basquiat and Hirst - The Richer I Am The Less People Will Question My Fake Rothko, Calling Yourself a Collector is Just a Fancy Way of Saying You're a Hoarder, The Art Dealer Told Me This Fake Rothko Would Make Me Feel Rich, This Basquiat is Fake But It Still Gets Me Laid...This humour is coupled with a prodigious and instinctive painterly skill as Hoyo pays a tongue-in-cheek homage to many of his artistic heroes.