Ignacio Canales Aracil: The Art of the Flower
Spanish artist Ignacio Canales Aracil has turned flower pressing into an art by crafting extraordinary sculptures that resemble hollow vessels in various shapes.
Starting with large basket or cone-shaped molds, Aracil weaves and presses handpicked flowers into a flat cover, using no adhesive. The flowers take about a month to dry after which they are sprayed with a light moisture-protecting coating and taken out of the mold. The end result is a range of delicate, yet rigid artworks that praise the beauty of fresh life frozen in time.
His work explores the meaning of nature and flowers with shapes that capture their beauty in sculptures where life is held. His works speaks with irony and longing about the aims of our society, in a natural stage full of dramatic contrasts.
fluoro asked Aracil about his inspiration, the meaning of the sculptures and his up-coming projects.
fluoro. What inspired you to make flower sculptures?
Ignacio Canales Aracil. I find a lot of inspiration in wild nature and landscape designs. I love the ability to transform a space whether wild or civilized, organising nature in an attempt to keep it pure. I find it very interesting to humanise nature in the shape of gardens or building spaces that are able to speak differently depending on the way we walk them, and how they fit in the surrounding environment. The emotions I feel in these places are what I try to interpret and transform in order to give shape to my ideas.
f. What do these sculptures represent?
ICA. Working with beauty and tradition in a contemporary language is what I focus on, a language that can be read in different ways having one, two or more meanings. These are the elements of my interest that I think should be kept in art.
f. What is your next project?
ICA. My next project is still to be confirmed, however I will be participating in a few international shows with new sculptures and installations, creating life-size carved landscapes.
At the moment, I am showing my work in a group exhibition Contemporáneos until the end of February at Galería Lucía Mendoza in Madrid. Later, I will take part in another group show Secret Garden in May at Galería Sargadelos in Pontevedra, Spain. Other than that, I am organising a calendar with international shows this year.
Stay tuned to fluoro for more original art.
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