KCHO (Alexis Leiva Machado)

Born: 1970 - Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba.

Education:: 1990 - the National School of Art of Havana, Cuba.

Experience: 1994 received the Ludwig Foundation Scholarship, in Aachen, Germany. Kcho heads The Brigade Martha Machado, who accompanied by almost 50 artists, including painters, musicians, magicians, clowns and comedians, offer humanitarian aid to communities of victims and affected by natural disasters and their support has not only reached Cuban populations but also in Haiti when the earthquake happened in 2010.

Awards: Important prizes and recognitions to their work among them: 1990 - Prize of the Hermanos Saíz Association, Nueva Gerona, Cuba; 1991 - Prize of the Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba; 1995 - Grand Prize of the Biennial of Kwan-Ju, South Korea; 1995 - Prize for the promotion of the arts of UNESCO, Geneva, Switzerland; 1998 - Prize for National Culture, Havana, Cuba; 2001 - Prize to the Cuban shipment to the IV Caribbean Biennial, Museum of Modern Art, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; 2003 - Abel Santamaría Medal, Havana, Cuba.

Shows: He has exhibited individually in more than ten countries; Cuba, Mexico, Spain, France, Italy, the United States, Canada and others. Some of his presentations have been; at the IV and VII Havana Biennial of Havana, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico, at the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation, Mallorca, Spain, at Les Cent Jours d 'Art Contemprain from Montreal, Canada, at the Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. Also in Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, in the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Los Angeles, in the Regen Projects, Los Angeles, in the 106 Gallery, Austin, Texas, in Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, in the Museum National Art Center Reina Sofia, Madrid, at the André Viana Gallery, Porto, Portugal, at the Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Turin, Italy, Billy Rose Pavilion, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel.