Carlos Albert: The sculptor of the soul

One of the most important artistic disciplines in the history of art has been, and is, sculpture, whose timeline dates back to prehistoric times. Its evolution and development, in terms of materials used and functionality, has undergone important "revolutions" throughout the ages: the 20th century was one of them.

In parallel to avant-garde art, a large number of styles emerged that moved away from traditional sculpture based on the technique of casting and that progressively became independent of any figurative reference.

In the case of Spain, figures such as Julio González, Picasso, Miró, Ferrant, Alberto Sánchez or Gargallo, laid the foundations of the so-called "modern sculpture". In the middle of the century, Chillida, Oteiza or Chirino took the baton from them with a renewed air, from which the artist Carlos Albert (Madrid, 1978) draws his inspiration.

This young sculptor, who began his training as a painter, and soon found his language in the three dimensions, is an integral artist who works the work from the initial sketch or ideal -collages or small format sculpture-, to its final execution. All her sculptural creations are based on a process of analysis of form, material, space and volume.

The choice of material is central to the development of his artistic scheme: he experiments with various materials, but gives primacy to wrought iron, stainless steel and Corten steel. In a body-to-body struggle, all kinds of shapes, curves and straight lines emerge, mixing and relating, creating mass and emptiness. It is important to keep the trace of this combat, so it is common to see irregularities and welds, regrets we could say, the result of new concerns arising in the always open, creative process. In the course of this process, nature is fundamental: his main source of inspiration. From it he extracts his essence and transforms it into pure forms, devoid of superfluous elements or those that distract from the main objective. [...]

[...] In the 21st century, in which we are witnessing a new revolution in art due to the incorporation of technology, it is striking that artists like Carlos Albert remain faithful to tradition and continue to generate, in their particular "forge", pieces where the soul remains intact. 

Ana Doldán de Cáceres
Director of the Esteban Vicente Museum of Contemporary Art