Biography
Oscillating between expression and constraint and advancing technological innovation while also utilising traditional craftsmanship, Alvarez’s sculptural forms challenge our perception of weight and gravity and appear both of this world and utterly separate from it. His practice focuses on the design of systems and the creation of tools and processes for producing sculptural objects and architecture. The technology created by the artist to aid in the works creation are inextricable from the artist’s work, and even from himself. They highlight the way in which an artist can become both craftsman and engineer, and the tension between these two roles. Alvarez continues to playfully push the boundaries, creating works rich in tradition and at the same time utterly unconventional to create a truly unique and surprising sculptural environment.
Anton Alvarez (b.1980) graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, UK in 2012. Recent solo exhibitions include The Flavour is So Strong, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden (2019); L’Ultima Cera, Church San Bernardino alle Monache, Milan, Italy (2019); Visual Vertigo, Espace Muraille, Geneva, Switzerland (2018); To Plan the Unexpected, Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden (2017); Alphabet Aerobics, National Centre for Craft and Design, UK (2016); How Long is a Piece of Thread, Xue Xue Institute, Taiwan (2016); Wrapsody, Salon 94, NY (2015). In September 2019 Alvarez was included included in the 10th Korean ceramic Biennale. Selected group shows include Ceramic Momentum: Staging the Object, Clay Keramikmuseum, Middelfart, Denmark (2019); The Most Real Thing: Contemporary Textiles and Sculpture, New Art centre, Roche Court, UK (2018); Color Your Life at Daelim Museum, Seoul, Korea and Wild Things at the Texture Museum, Belgium. Alvarez’s work is included in the public collections of the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden; Denver Art Museum, Colorado, USA and the Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg, Sweden as well as many prominent private collections. In 2015 Alvarez’s first major monograph Anton Alvarez: The Thread Wrapping Machine was published by Arvinius + Orfeus Publishing with a foreword by Richard Wentworth.
EDUCATION
— Royal College of Art (MFA), London, England, 2010–2012
— Konstfack (BFA), Stockholm, Sweden, 2006-2009
— Stenebyskolan, Cabinetmaking, Dals Långed, Sweden, 2004–2006
Solo and duo exhibitons
2023
—Columns and Fences (duo show with Mathias Weinfurter), Ruttkowski 68, Collagen, Germany
2022
—Embodiement (duo show with Leo Park), Cromwell Place, Lavery Studio, London, UK
—Honey, Millesgården Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
—Under Pressure, Rörstrands Museum, Lidköping, Sweden
—The Remnants, Bishopsgate 100, London, UK
2021
— Rapture (duo show with Takuro Kuwata), Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
— Tight Squeeze, Huxley Parlour, London, UK
— Roman Toothpaste, Vandalorum, Värnamo, Sweden
2019
— The Flavour is So Strong, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
— Virgula Divina (duo show with Cathrin Hoffmann), Setareh Gallery, Düsseldorf, German
— L'Ultima Cera, Church San Bernardino alle Monache, Milano, Italy
2018
— Visual Vertigo, Espace Muraille, Geneva, Switzerland
— Market Art Fair (solo booth), Christian Larsen gallery, Liljevalch konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
2017
— To plan the unexpected, Gallery Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden
— Tropicana (duo show with Jonathan Trayte), Christie’s, London, UK
— Uppsala Darling (duo show with Lisa Stenberg), Uppsala Konstmuseum, Uppsala, Sweden
2016
— In Search of the Unknown, Gallery Machado-Muñoz, Madrid, Spain
— Alphabet Aerobics, National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford, UK
— How Long is a Piece of Thread, Xue Xue institute, Taipei, Taiwan
2015
— Show me Thread Wrapping, Show me Gallery, Encourados, Portugal
— Wrapsody, Salon 94, New York, USA
2014
— Thread Wrapping Architecture, Steneby Konsthall, Dals Långed, Sweden
— Thread Wrapping Architecture, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
— Wrappers Delight, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, England
Group shows (in selection)
2024
— Not Enough Room to Swing a Cat, Helsinki Contemporary, Helsingfors, Finland
2023
—Any Colour You Like, Carl Kostyal, Milan, Italy
—Down By The Sea, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
—Keramiké, Sof:Art, Bologna, Italy
—Gullringsbo Konstsamling 2.0, Hospitalet, Stockholm, Sweden
2022
—I Wouldn’t Touch That if I Were You, Amaze, Stockholm, Sweden
—Villeggiatura, Nevve Gallery, Cascina Gilli, Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Italy
—Primary An exhibition in three colours, Larsen Warner Falsterbo, Stockholm, Sweden
—Layererd, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
—Toucher Terre, Fondation Fondation Villa Datris, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France
—Ghost in the machine, Thomasesen Gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden
2021
—This Must Be the Place, Villa Schöningen, Potsdam, Germany
— Mixed Pickles 9, Ruttkowski 68, München, Germany
—Ceramics NOW, Galerie Italienne, Paris, France
— Struggling But Surviving, Amaze, Stockholm, Sweden
2020
— Gathering, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
2019
— Sous La Peau, Double V Gallery, Marseille, France
— Ceramic Momentum, Staging the Object, Clay Keramikmuseum Denmark, Middelfart, Denmark
— Light of Chile, 193 Gallery, Paris, France
2018
— The Most Real Thing: contemporary textiles and sculpture, New Art Centre, Roche Court, England
— Unsighted, Milan, Italy
— MDR, Collectible Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium
2017
— Salon 94, Frieze, London, UK
— Arcade x Christan Lersen Gallery, London, UK
— Gustavsbergs Konsthall Revisited, Gustavbergs konsthall, Gustavsberg, Sweden
— Midtown, Salon 94, New York, USA
— Scabellon, Double V Gallery, Marseille, France
2016
— The Plinth Project, Etage Projects, Copenhagen, Danmark
— LIFT-ON / LIFT-OFF, CRIPTA747, Turin, Italy
— Area / Test, El Matadero, Madrid, Spain
— The Death of Ceramics, Hangmen Projects, Stockholm, Sweden
— Color Your Life, Daelim Museum, Seoul, Korea
— Wild Things, Texture Museum, Kortrijk, Belgium
2015
— Salon 94, Frieze, New York, USA
— Här och nu, Västerås Konstumeum, Västerås, Sweden
— Open Ended by Lidewij Edelkoort, Kazerne Gallery, Eindhoven, Netherlands
— Subjectivities, National Museum @ Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
2014
— Salon 94, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, USA
— Space Craft, The National Centre for Craft & Design, Lincolnshire, UK
— Konsthallen Hishullt twentieth anniversary exhibition, Hishullt Konsthall, Hishullt, Sweden
— Área Bordes, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile
— Architecture of Enjoyment, Fokidos 21 and Marcelle Josepg Projects, Athens, Greece
— Salon 94, Frieze, London, UK
— Thread Wrapping Architecture 290414, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, UK
— Space Craft , Platform, London, UK
— Every colour is divine, Kvadrat, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan, Italy
— Desiderabilia, INR, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan, Italy
— Entre deux chaises, un livre, The Boghossian Fondation, Brussels, Belgium
— Alpine Project, Kissthedesign Gallery, Lausanne, Switzerland
— Drawn From, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, England
Oscillating between expression and constraint and advancing technological innovation while also utilising traditional craftsmanship, Alvarez’s sculptural forms challenge our perception of weight and gravity and appear both of this world and utterly separate from it. His practice focuses on the design of systems and the creation of tools and processes for producing sculptural objects and architecture. The technology created by the artist to aid in the works creation are inextricable from the artist’s work, and even from himself. They highlight the way in which an artist can become both craftsman and engineer, and the tension between these two roles. Alvarez continues to playfully push the boundaries, creating works rich in tradition and at the same time utterly unconventional to create a truly unique and surprising sculptural environment.
Anton Alvarez (b.1980) graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, UK in 2012. Recent solo exhibitions include The Flavour is So Strong, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden (2019); L’Ultima Cera, Church San Bernardino alle Monache, Milan, Italy (2019); Visual Vertigo, Espace Muraille, Geneva, Switzerland (2018); To Plan the Unexpected, Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden (2017); Alphabet Aerobics, National Centre for Craft and Design, UK (2016); How Long is a Piece of Thread, Xue Xue Institute, Taiwan (2016); Wrapsody, Salon 94, NY (2015). In September 2019 Alvarez was included included in the 10th Korean ceramic Biennale. Selected group shows include Ceramic Momentum: Staging the Object, Clay Keramikmuseum, Middelfart, Denmark (2019); The Most Real Thing: Contemporary Textiles and Sculpture, New Art centre, Roche Court, UK (2018); Color Your Life at Daelim Museum, Seoul, Korea and Wild Things at the Texture Museum, Belgium. Alvarez’s work is included in the public collections of the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden; Denver Art Museum, Colorado, USA and the Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg, Sweden as well as many prominent private collections. In 2015 Alvarez’s first major monograph Anton Alvarez: The Thread Wrapping Machine was published by Arvinius + Orfeus Publishing with a foreword by Richard Wentworth.
Solo and duo exhibitons
2023
—Columns and Fences (duo show with Mathias Weinfurter), Ruttkowski 68, Collagen, Germany
2022
—Embodiement (duo show with Leo Park), Cromwell Place, Lavery Studio, London, UK
—Honey, Millesgården Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
—Under Pressure, Rörstrands Museum, Lidköping, Sweden
—The Remnants, Bishopsgate 100, London, UK
2021
— Rapture (duo show with Takuro Kuwata), Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
— Tight Squeeze, Huxley Parlour, London, UK
— Roman Toothpaste, Vandalorum, Värnamo, Sweden
2019
— The Flavour is So Strong, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
— Virgula Divina (duo show with Cathrin Hoffmann), Setareh Gallery, Düsseldorf, German
— L'Ultima Cera, Church San Bernardino alle Monache, Milano, Italy
2018
— Visual Vertigo, Espace Muraille, Geneva, Switzerland
— Market Art Fair (solo booth), Christian Larsen gallery, Liljevalch konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
2017
— To plan the unexpected, Gallery Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden
— Tropicana (duo show with Jonathan Trayte), Christie’s, London, UK
— Uppsala Darling (duo show with Lisa Stenberg), Uppsala Konstmuseum, Uppsala, Sweden
2016
— In Search of the Unknown, Gallery Machado-Muñoz, Madrid, Spain
— Alphabet Aerobics, National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford, UK
— How Long is a Piece of Thread, Xue Xue institute, Taipei, Taiwan
2015
— Show me Thread Wrapping, Show me Gallery, Encourados, Portugal
— Wrapsody, Salon 94, New York, USA
2014
— Thread Wrapping Architecture, Steneby Konsthall, Dals Långed, Sweden
— Thread Wrapping Architecture, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
— Wrappers Delight, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, England
Group shows (in selection)
2024
— Not Enough Room to Swing a Cat, Helsinki Contemporary, Helsingfors, Finland
2023
—Any Colour You Like, Carl Kostyal, Milan, Italy
—Down By The Sea, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
—Keramiké, Sof:Art, Bologna, Italy
—Gullringsbo Konstsamling 2.0, Hospitalet, Stockholm, Sweden
2022
—I Wouldn’t Touch That if I Were You, Amaze, Stockholm, Sweden
—Villeggiatura, Nevve Gallery, Cascina Gilli, Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Italy
—Primary An exhibition in three colours, Larsen Warner Falsterbo, Stockholm, Sweden
—Layererd, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
—Toucher Terre, Fondation Fondation Villa Datris, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France
—Ghost in the machine, Thomasesen Gallery, Gothenburg, Sweden
2021
—This Must Be the Place, Villa Schöningen, Potsdam, Germany
— Mixed Pickles 9, Ruttkowski 68, München, Germany
—Ceramics NOW, Galerie Italienne, Paris, France
— Struggling But Surviving, Amaze, Stockholm, Sweden
2020
— Gathering, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden
2019
— Sous La Peau, Double V Gallery, Marseille, France
— Ceramic Momentum, Staging the Object, Clay Keramikmuseum Denmark, Middelfart, Denmark
— Light of Chile, 193 Gallery, Paris, France
2018
— The Most Real Thing: contemporary textiles and sculpture, New Art Centre, Roche Court, England
— Unsighted, Milan, Italy
— MDR, Collectible Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium
2017
— Salon 94, Frieze, London, UK
— Arcade x Christan Lersen Gallery, London, UK
— Gustavsbergs Konsthall Revisited, Gustavbergs konsthall, Gustavsberg, Sweden
— Midtown, Salon 94, New York, USA
— Scabellon, Double V Gallery, Marseille, France
2016
— The Plinth Project, Etage Projects, Copenhagen, Danmark
— LIFT-ON / LIFT-OFF, CRIPTA747, Turin, Italy
— Area / Test, El Matadero, Madrid, Spain
— The Death of Ceramics, Hangmen Projects, Stockholm, Sweden
— Color Your Life, Daelim Museum, Seoul, Korea
— Wild Things, Texture Museum, Kortrijk, Belgium
2015
— Salon 94, Frieze, New York, USA
— Här och nu, Västerås Konstumeum, Västerås, Sweden
— Open Ended by Lidewij Edelkoort, Kazerne Gallery, Eindhoven, Netherlands
— Subjectivities, National Museum @ Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
2014
— Salon 94, Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, USA
— Space Craft, The National Centre for Craft & Design, Lincolnshire, UK
— Konsthallen Hishullt twentieth anniversary exhibition, Hishullt Konsthall, Hishullt, Sweden
— Área Bordes, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile
— Architecture of Enjoyment, Fokidos 21 and Marcelle Josepg Projects, Athens, Greece
— Salon 94, Frieze, London, UK
— Thread Wrapping Architecture 290414, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, UK
— Space Craft , Platform, London, UK
— Every colour is divine, Kvadrat, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan, Italy
— Desiderabilia, INR, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan, Italy
— Entre deux chaises, un livre, The Boghossian Fondation, Brussels, Belgium
— Alpine Project, Kissthedesign Gallery, Lausanne, Switzerland
— Drawn From, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, England
EDUCATION
— Royal College of Art (MFA), London, England, 2010–2012
— Konstfack (BFA), Stockholm, Sweden, 2006-2009
— Stenebyskolan, Cabinetmaking, Dals Långed, Sweden, 2004–2006