The work of Peruvian sculptor Aldo Chaparro (Lima, 1965) represents an acute reflection on the human condition and its relationship with nature. By intervening primary materials with elementary techniques, he examines the way in which certain human gestures manifest their dependence on the physical world, while simultaneously revealing a fundamental religious impulse. Whether it is through the carving and burning of pieces of wood that evoke totemic figures, the modular composition of simple shapes covered with gold leaf – reminiscent of objects of worship – or the simple gesture of folding and wrinkling steel sheets by pushing different parts of his body against them, the varying pieces that make up this exhibition demonstrate his capacity to sublimate the essential behaviors of the human being into sculpture.

1984 born in Lima, Peru. 2001 studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. 2006 – 2010 lived and worked in Brazil and Argentina. 2012 Graduation from the academy in Vienna. Lives and works in Vienna and London. Luis Casanova Sorolla has developed multiple methods to capture the ephemeral moment of a dance, a performance, or music. For his Signapura series the artist rolls out a large paper web and subsequently spreads natural pigments on it. The painting is not created directly by the hand of the artist but by the dynamic movement of human bodies, to be precise of professional dancers. Casanova Sorolla has collaborated with dancers, i.e. from the Vienna State Ballet, Royal Ballet London, and the Russian State Ballet, who “assist” the artist as soloists, pairwise, or in small groups. The artist selects the music after which they move across the large paper sheets in order to leave their dance marks on the pigment. In 2015 he was selected by the art magazine Parnass to perform at Vienna contemporary. Currently he is being considered for the art project “Safety Curtain” of the Vienna State Opera. One of his works is featured in the group show “Zeichnung 17/Drawing 17” at Michael Sturm Gallery taking place from April the first until May the thirteenth.

1983 born in Santiago, Chile. Degree in Cinema Studies at UNIACC University in Santiago. 2005 Image & Sound Design studies at the University of Buenos Aires. Participation in an artist residency tutored by filmmaker & visual artist, Paula Gaitán in Rio do Janeiro. He currently lives and works in Santiago, Chile.

The implicit participation of the viewer plays an important role in the work of Gianfranco Foschino. The Chilean artist, who works with video only, was once named „The Vermeer of Chile“ by a critic. Indeed his videos are often closer to painting/drawing rather than to film. He never works with montage, but with a static camera delivering one image that changes over time only by the movement within the given frame. His works are almost devoid of any overt activity but display a seemingly static image of landscapes or domestic scenes, that at times might seem familiar. By this Foschino re-evaluates the notion of time in video art. His work was featured in the Chilean Pavilion of the Venice Biennial for architecture in 2014, which was awarded with the golden Lion. He had his first solo show in a museum in Germany last year at the Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken called „Hidden Stories“. The accompanying catalogue (Kerber) will be published in 2017. He is a featured artist of Galerie Michael Sturm, which is focusing increasingly on Latin-American artists since 2009.

Fritzia Irizar Culiacán, Mexico, 1977 Fritzia Irizar cuestiona el valor del dinero y su poder adquisitivo a través de objetos extraídos de su «hábitat natural» que adoptan cualidades simbólicas, y de los que elimina así su valor monetario, transformando la percepción que el espectador tiene de ellos. Su trabajo refiere directamente a modos de circulación del capital a pequeña escala, y al consumo de la obra de arte, a cómo las estructuras económicas determinan a los individuos, y cómo se configuran así ciertas subjetividades. Varios de sus proyectos han incorporado diamantes y sal, similares en apariencia y ambos utilizados como divisas en diferentes periodos históricos. La noción de los valores de dichos materiales está sujeta a la creencia y la fantasía, una complejidad siempre presente en sus piezas. El trabajo de Fritzia reconoce que la historia y la ciencia son casi ficciones, construidas en peque- ñas capas de conocimiento, y sujetas por tanto a las decisiones de unos pocos individuos. Aun así, son ficciones a las que nos agarramos, como actos de fe, de pertenencia o voluntad de certeza. Desprovistas de su contexto habitual, las divisas que Fritiza Irizar utiliza en su trabajo asumen cualidades simbólicas que hablan de la construcción del deseo y el valor.

Fritzia Irizar Culiacán, Mexico, 1977 Fritzia Irizar cuestiona el valor del dinero y su poder adquisitivo a través de objetos extraídos de su «hábitat natural» que adoptan cualidades simbólicas, y de los que elimina así su valor monetario, transformando la percepción que el espectador tiene de ellos. Su trabajo refiere directamente a modos de circulación del capital a pequeña escala, y al consumo de la obra de arte, a cómo las estructuras económicas determinan a los individuos, y cómo se configuran así ciertas subjetividades. Varios de sus proyectos han incorporado diamantes y sal, similares en apariencia y ambos utilizados como divisas en diferentes periodos históricos. La noción de los valores de dichos materiales está sujeta a la creencia y la fantasía, una complejidad siempre presente en sus piezas. El trabajo de Fritzia reconoce que la historia y la ciencia son casi ficciones, construidas en peque- ñas capas de conocimiento, y sujetas por tanto a las decisiones de unos pocos individuos. Aun así, son ficciones a las que nos agarramos, como actos de fe, de pertenencia o voluntad de certeza. Desprovistas de su contexto habitual, las divisas que Fritiza Irizar utiliza en su trabajo asumen cualidades simbólicas que hablan de la construcción del deseo y el valor.