Alvaro Barrington: GRACE – Tate Britain

A transformative Tate Britain installation by Alvaro Barrington honours Black women and their influence through sound, painting, and sculpture.

The Bukhman Foundation is proud to be the lead philanthropic supporter of GRACE, a powerful site-specific installation by Alvaro Barrington. Situated in Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries, the work draws on Barrington’s Caribbean heritage, paying tribute to three key women in his life: his grandmother, mother, and a close friend.

 

Visitors are taken on a journey through vivid scenes: a tropical rainstorm beneath a steel roof, a four-metre aluminium carnival figure, and a poignant stained-glass finale addressing the impact of mass incarceration. Through a blend of intimate storytelling and bold artistic expression, GRACE invites reflection on themes of love, community, and cultural identity. The work celebrates the resilience of Black traditions while honouring the transformative power of women’s care and creativity.

 

Admission is free until 26 January 2025.

About Alvaro Barrington
Alvaro Barrington was born in Venezuela in 1983 to a Haitian father and a Grenadian mother and was raised between the Caribbean and Brooklyn, New York. He studied at Hunter College in New York before moving to London in 2015 to study at the Slade School of Fine Art. Barrington has exhibited internationally, from his first solo show at MoMA PS1 in 2017 to his exhibition at South London Gallery in 2021, and his works are held in public collections including Tate, The Hepworth Wakefield, Towner Eastbourne, and the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami.

 

Images
Tate Britain Commission: Alvaro Barrington: GRACE. Photo © Tate (Seraphina Neville)
Tate Britain Commission: Alvaro Barrington: GRACE. Photo © Tate (Oliver Cowling)