Ana Laura Alaéz

ANA LAURA ALÁEZ (Bilbao, 1964).
"The family", 1996.
Wool (knitted) and polystyrene inside. Unique piece.
Measurements: 20 x 22 x 22 cm; 30 x 36 x 36 x 36 cm; 40 x 50 x 50 x 50 cm.
Crochet or textile work has always been associated with women, in this particular case Ana Laura Aláez rescues this traditional technique and recreates three characters that simulate a family. The lack of features does not specify the role of each of the elements that make up this sculpture, however its size does define the roles of each one in a family structure, so that the artist invites us to reflect on the established traditional values.
Ana Laura Aláez defines herself as an "architect of emotions" who transforms her experience into sculpture. She turns everyday products, such as these lipsticks, into art, but recognizes that she does not know what "being an artist" means. A staunch defender of feminism, one of her works is a hand-woven wonder woman costume that connects with the traditions followed by those women who were dedicated to sewing. According to the artist herself, "I belong to a generation (the post-punk generation, the "no future" generation) that was marked by a frontal rejection of culture. Culture was, in a way, the incarnation of power and oppression. Throughout my artistic career I have come to understand that what we consider as classics represent in each era a level of subversion equivalent to what we understand as such today and, therefore, to differentiate them from the normalizing use made of them by the official culture. Since the beginning of my practice, there are two parallel vectors that have always been present in a more or less explicit way: -1, the mode of the feminine presence in art and -2, the questioning of the plastic elements that have traditionally defined sculpture as an art linked to notions considered basically masculine, such as strength, hardness, the prevalence of the physical, a self-confident subject, etc., and their different re-evaluations in the different moments of my trajectory." Undoubtedly, Ana Laura Aláez (is one of the fundamental names of the Spanish artistic scene. Her career and contribution were awarded by the Basque Government with the Gure Artea 2013. Dance & Disco at the Reina Sofia Museum (Madrid); Beauty Cabinet Prototype (Palais de Tokyo, Paris); Bridge of Light, Towada Art Center (Japan) and Sculpture Pavilion at the Musac (León). And also his participation in the most important international biennials: 5th Istanbul Biennial (1997), the 48th Venice Biennial (1999) or the Spanish Pavilion at the 49th Venice Biennial (2001), among others. His work can be found in different collections of museum spaces and art centers of indisputable relevance such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Moma in New York or the Guggenheim Museum.