Álvaro Soler-Arpa: messenger species

With a style that oscillates between science fiction and ecological alarmism, Álvaro Soler-Arpa (Girona, 1974) presents Especies Mensajeras at the Fundación Biodiversidad in Seville. These are 33 works –23 sculptures and 10 drawings– that confront the viewer with an alternative reality, but not so far removed from the current world. His creations, made with animal bones and recycled materials, evoke a mutant ecosystem, altered by human impact and the consequences of pollution. According to the artist, this distancing from nature symbolizes the loss of our own spirituality, a void that progressively distances us from our natural environment, and which he denounces through his sculptures.

Animal marino, Álvaro Soler-Arpa (2011).

Soler-Arpa plays with imagination and restlessness. His animals – elephants with feathers, reptiles covered in fur, hybrids that defy the laws of biology – are a metaphor for evolution distorted by the human hand. His work reminds us that nature always finds a way to adapt, but not without consequences. The exhibition also explores the delicate relationship between the natural environment and modern pollutants, which put the continuity of many species at risk in an increasingly deteriorated ecosystem.

Curated by Marian Boadas , the exhibition will be open until September and is part of the Estils de Vida project, promoted by the foundation, an initiative that seeks to link art and environmental awareness. It is also part of an exhibition tour in collaboration with the Cercle de Bellas Arts de Madrid, thus consolidating a space for dialogue on the future of our natural environment.

Cabra-cangrejo, Álvaro Soler-Arpa (2013)

With more than two decades of experience, the artist from Girona has consolidated his own voice in the contemporary art scene, exhibiting in spaces such as the Cercle de Belles Arts in Madrid or the Hummer Unter Berlin. His work is not only a critique of excessive capitalism and limitless consumerism, but also an invitation to reflection: what are we doing in our world? What consequences will our indifference have?