Artist Talk Sculptor Alexandre Arrechea

4:00 - 4:45 Artist Meet and Greet in lobby of Springhill Suites *

5:00 - 6:00 Artist Talk

6:00 - 6:30 Viewing of Sculpture

Artist Alexandre Arrechea will be discussing his sculpture commissioned for the newly renovated Herman Massey Park in downtown Tampa. This sculpture draws inspiration from the iconic Tampa Theatre (1926), reimagining its silhouette instead of copying it. It reflects the theatre’s layered history—not just the people who’ve passed through, but also the marks left by time, weather, and light. Shapes and graphics hint at a façade, a glowing marquee, and even a strip of film coming undone. LED lighting adds shifting light and shadow, giving the piece a sense of movement. Rather than a fixed monument, it feels alive—an evolving tribute that invites viewers to see Tampa’s architectural story in a fresh way.

*Special thanks to the Springhill Suites for providing the space for this event.

About the Artist

Born in Trinidad de Cuba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site celebrated for its 18th- and 19th-century colonial architecture—much of it built through the wealth of the sugar industry—Alexandre Arrechea grew up acutely aware of the histories embedded in the built environment. As a descendant of enslaved people who labored in those fields, he developed a lasting sensitivity to how architecture can embody systems of power, memory, and social structure.

Working across large-scale installations, public art commissions, sculpture, watercolor, and video, Arrechea examines the cultural and political frameworks that shape urban space. His practice focuses on revealing the ideological tensions embedded in architectural form, often reconfiguring structures to expose how design influences behavior, authority, and collective experience. Through both intimate works on paper and monumental interventions, he invites viewers to reconsider the spaces they inhabit.

Arrechea received his BFA from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana in 1994. Between 1991 and 2003, he co-founded the influential Cuban collective Los Carpinteros, known internationally for transforming everyday objects and architectural references through subtle yet critical formal shifts.

https://alexandrearrechea.com/

Info: Meet and greet in lobby of the Springhill Suites. Cash bar

Info: Artist Talk to take place in "Dynamic Room" located on the first floor of Springhill Suites, adjacent to lobby.

Info: View sculpture from rooftop of Springhill Suites, overlooking Herman Massey Park. Attendees may also walk over to Herman Massey Park, immediately adjacent to Springhill Suites.

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Host or Publisher City of Tampa, Art Programs Division