Claudia Fontes, an Argentinian artist, captivates audiences with her surreal sculptures that blend human figures with organic forms. Her work, particularly the “Foreigners” series, showcases small sculptures where human forms are enveloped by or merged with elements that seem to be alive, made from materials like flaxseed paper porcelain.
These pieces are not just artistic expressions but also evoke deeper reflections on human behavior, and cultural, political, and social questions. Fontes’ approach to art is both poetic and political, aiming to explore the potential that arises from creating and collaborating. Her work is a testament to the power of art as a mediator, challenging traditional representations and inviting viewers to consider the co-existence of multiple forms of life from a post-human perspective.
I am after the poetic and political potential that emerge from making things and gathering with others. I have a long-standing interest in human behaviour and in what role art plays in it. I see my work as being a mediator of the multiple agencies involved in the making and the gathering while steering away from representation. (…) My early work responded to a need for understanding how things come to be and how change happens, be it in a natural, cultural or social context. While being a young artist in Argentina and in The Netherlands, the postcolonial political and artistic scene I was immersed in made me develop a keen interest in history and strategies of decolonisation that involved collaborations with others. This decolonial notion of ‘other’ expanded very quickly to embrace logics of co-existence beyond the human, and to frame my work into a post-human perspective.
Claudia Fontes
More info: Website, Instagram (h/t: Talent House).
