Yucef Merhi

Yucef Merhi (born February 8, 1977) is a Venezuelan artist, poet and computer programmer, based in New York.[1]

Contents

Life and work

Yucef Merhi was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He studied at Universidad Central de Venezuela and New School University.[1]. His artistic practice began in the mid 80s.[2] He is known as the first artist in exhibiting a work of art that included a video game console, the Atari 2600, back in 1985[3][4]. As the pioneer of Digital Art in Venezuela[5], Merhi has produced a wide body of works that engage electronic circuits, computers, video game systems, touch screens, and other devices in the presentation of his written words, like the Poetic Clock, a machine that converts time into poetry which generates 86.400 different poems daily[6] . The resulting artworks expand the limitations of language and the traditional context of poetry, proposing a bold new role for the poet in our culture.[7]

Exhibitions

Merhi's career encompasses a world wide exhibition record in places such as the New Museum of Contemporary Art[8]; Bronx Museum of the Arts[9]; El Museo del Barrio[10];Eyebeam Art and Technology Center[11] and Exit Art[12], all located in New York; as well as the Orange County Museum of Art[2] (California); De Appel[13] (Amsterdam); Museo Michetti[14] (Rome); Borusan Culture & Art Center[15] (Istanbul); Paço das Artes[16] (São Paulo); Museo del Chopo[17] (Mexico DF); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán[18] (Yucatán); Museo de Bellas Artes[19] (Caracas); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo[20] (Caracas); Science World British Columbia[21](Vancouver); among many others. He also participated in the official selections of the 7th International Festival of New Film[22], Split, Croatia; the 2007 Bienal de São Paulo – Valencia[23]; and the 10th Istanbul Biennial[24].

His work is documented in more than 40 catalogs[25], encyclopedias, dictionaries, movies[26], text books, PhD thesis and academic volumes[27][28]. He is currently represented in the collections of the Orange County Museum of Art[2] (California); Museo Alejandro Otero (Caracas); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas (Caracas); Ateneo de Valencia (Valencia); and private collections in New York, Miami, Caracas, Madrid and Tel Aviv.[27][28]

Awards

Merhi has received several grants and awards including the New York Foundation for the Arts in Digital/Electronic Arts[27], as well as numerous commissions and residencies from institutions such as the Orange County Museum of Art[29], Bronx Museum of the Arts[9], and Eyebeam Art and Technology Center[11], among others.

Sources

References

  1. ^ a b Carlo Zanni, INTERVIEW WITH YUCEF MERHI, Centre international d'art contemporain de Montréal's online magazine, No.18, 2004.
  2. ^ a b c Orange County Museum of Art; Profile. Ocma.net. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  3. ^ Monfront Nick; Bogost, Ian Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System Boston: The MIT Press.
  4. ^ Monfront Nick; Bogost, Ian Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System; Index Boston: The MIT Press.
  5. ^ Silvera, Yohana. Yucef Merhi transforma la poesía en objetos.,Tal Cual, October 6, 2010
  6. ^ Boston Cyberarts 2009 Festival. Bostoncyberarts.org (April 24, 2009). Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  7. ^ E-Flux.com. E-Flux.com (August 28, 2005). Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  8. ^ New Museum of Contemporary Art. Newmuseum.org. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Holland Cotter, Latino Art, and Beyond Category, The New York Times, Sept 2, 2005.
  10. ^ El Museo del Barrio. Elmuseo.org. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  11. ^ a b Anette Gallo, EYEBEAM ANNUAL ONLINE FORUM The (Re) Structured Screen, Rhizome Digest, October 31, 2002.
  12. ^ Exit Art. Exit Art. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  13. ^ De Appel. Exitart.org. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  14. ^ LVI Premio Michetti – In & Out,ExibArt News, July 23, 2005.
  15. ^ Bütün Haberler,İnsanın tarih boyunca teknoloji ile ilişkisi nasıldı?,Zaman Türk Gazetesi, October 20, 2002.
  16. ^ FILE 2002. File.org.br. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  17. ^ Museo Universitario del Chopo. Chopo.unam.mx. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  18. ^ Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán. Macay.org. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  19. ^ Felix Suazo, Videohabitats, ArtNexus, February, 2001
  20. ^ Museo de Arte Contemporáneo: Videoarte Venezolano, Museos Nuestros,October, 2006.
  21. ^ Pamela Findling, Science World presents ACM Multimedia 2008, Science World British Columbia, October 27, 2008
  22. ^ Split Film Festival. Splitfilmfestival.hr (September 11, 2001). Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  23. ^ Bienal São Paulo – Valencia. Encuentroentredosmares.com. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  24. ^ 10th Istanbul Biennial
  25. ^ José Manuel Briceño Guerrero, Yucef Merhi, Press Dossier: 1985–2010, NY Art Press, April, 2011
  26. ^ María Gabriela Méndez, La película "Elipsis" es un museo para la obra de Yucef Merhi, El Universal, October 7, 2006
  27. ^ a b c New York Foundation for the Arts. Nyfa.org. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  28. ^ a b Yucef Merhi official CV. Cibernetic.com. Retrieved on November 20, 2011.
  29. ^ Orange County Museum of Art. (PDF) . Retrieved on November 20, 2011.

External links