Anton Alvarez

September 24, 2017
at 2:45 pm
# art, contemporary, minimalism, sculpture

Anton Alvarez’s sculptural forms challenge our perception of weight and gravity. They appear both of this world and utterly separate from it. His sculptures, created by utilizing traditional craftsmanship, oscillate between expression and constraint, as well as advancing technological innovation. In his practice, Anton Alvarez focuses not only on the design of systems and the creation of tools but also on processes for producing sculptural objects and architecture. In fact, the technology, created by the artist to aid in the creation of the work, is inseparable from the artist’s work, and even from himself. With his work, he highlights the way in which an artist can become both craftsman and engineer. Thus Anton Alvarez explores the tension between these two roles.

Alphabet Aerobics is a collection of strangely shaped raw clay sculptures. In essence, it is the result of Anton Alvarez’s obsession with creating his own tools and machines. And because of that, the final outcome, the shape of the sculpture, can’t be predicted.

Speaking of the technical side, Anton’s latest whizzy contraption has a 3000-kilo press. It pushes clay through a machine and through the individual nozzles that he designs himself. Again, the result can literally be anything. Speed, height, and shape — all manipulate the end result. Those factors create soft, lumpy swirls of clay that become the sculpture.

Today Alvarez continues to playfully push the boundaries. He creates works rich in tradition, but at the same time utterly unconventional to create — a truly unique and surprising sculptural environment.

Photos: Michael Bodiam.

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