Zona Maco - Mexico City Art Fair -February 8-12, 2023
Decay & Renewal
Gwladys Alonso, Maria Monteys, Interspecifics & Claudio Sodi
Decay & Renewal is a collaborative exhibition between artists Gwladys Alonso María Monteys, Interspecifics and Claudio sodi.
A dialogue centered around decay and renewal, with a special emphasis on the possibilities of life and death viewed through fungi and permanent materials. Join us on this visual journey that seeks to link nature to art offering a fresh perspective on techniques, human endeavor and a new way to contemplate the universal pattern of creation.
Maria Monteys
The fungal pieces were born as a consequence of the collaboration between scientist Edith Garay and artist María Monteys. They use the fungi’s root systems and low-grade agricultural waste to build sturdy but lightweight structures.
The pieces were created by embracing natural shapes and patterns, honoring the process between life and death.
Life couldn’t be explained without mushrooms, especially in terms of one of its most important processes: transforming organic materials into diverse forms that may be used by various organisms. They are indispensable for this work because of this aptitude. Through the incorporation of death, the renewal of life and the provision of their own desiccation persists.
CLAUDIO SODI
A decade ago, Claudio Sodi started exploring how random fungi behave and intervene. This journey has since yielded a series of work based upon compositions created when very simple and strong shapes inadvertently face environmental organisms such as mold - introduced by the artist through intentional humidity, darkness and warm temperatures in which his canvases are so artfully immersed.
A series of 6 pieces, which took 19 months to prepare, from the moment of painting the rational acrylic figures, to the petrification of the mold; different fungi dispersed by the wind, from the ground, and even through moisture particles carried by insects. The final pieces become unique thoughts between the artist and the spores of various fungi.
Interspecifics
Interspecifics presents a unique artwork collection, combining science with technology to create an extraordinary visual experience. These pieces are developed through a cooperative process characteristic of Interspecifics' work, in which non-human organisms, algorithms and machines are part of the same creative ensemble. The resulting pieces are graphic, one-of-a-kind procedural drawings – mechanically drawn on cotton paper using a custom plotter - that explore the structural and biological complexities found within cultures of different types of mushrooms.
This type of work is indicative of Interspecific's quest, spanning more than 10 years devoted to the observation and production of work inspired by the expression and behavior of organisms, such as plants, bacteria, fungi, and physical phenomena.
