Lido Rico

LIDO RICO (Yecla Murcia, 1968).
"Circular of secrets", 2003.
Sculptures in polyester resin. Unique piece.
Includes assembly map.
Pieces signed on the back.
Measurements: 250 x 250 x 16 cm (variable measurements).

Exhibitions: Museum Art Györ, Hungary.
-XXIII Biennial of Alexandria.

Lidó Rico manages with this installation to build a key piece within his artistic language. Made of polyester resin and conceived as a single piece, the installation displays on the wall a set of suspended body fragments: torsos, heads, arms and faces that seem to emerge from a liminal space between matter and consciousness. The result is a circular composition of strong visual and psychological impact, where the human body ceases to be a unit and becomes a territory of emotional tension, memory and uneasiness. This work acquires a particularly significant dimension in the context of the exhibition Lidó Rico. L'anima non finita, which will be held from May 8 to 31, 2026 at the Sala Alcalá 31 (Madrid). The exhibition proposes a broad reading of the artist's career through monumental installations, such as Achicadores de cielos, Comulgatorio or Murcia. Piel y Memoria, with which the present work maintains clear aesthetic and thematic affinities, although it is not part of the exhibition. In this context, "Circular de secretos" is integrated as a paradigmatic example of his research on the unfinished, the fragmentary and the corporal as a space of symbolic construction.

The circular arrangement of the figures is not accidental. The circle, traditionally associated with totality, the eternal and the ritual, appears here subverted. Instead of harmony, the viewer finds an accumulation of fragmented bodies and expressions of anguish, fear, scream or introspection. Rico transforms the perfect geometry into a space of inner conflict. The work seems to function as a metaphor for the contemporary mind: saturated with voices, secrets, traumas and repressed emotions. Each face seems isolated and, at the same time, inevitably connected to the rest. Lido Rico works the human body not from the classical idealization, but from its extreme vulnerability. The anatomy appears mutilated, compressed or suspended, evoking visual strategies close to the art of the abject and to certain currents of European neo-expressionism. One of the most remarkable aspects of the installation is its capacity to generate a physical experience. The accumulation of bodies on the wall breaks the neutrality of the exhibition space and turns the wall into a living, almost organic surface. The work invades the environment and forces the viewer to confront a multiple and disturbing presence. In this sense, Rico approaches an expanded conception of sculpture, understood not only as an object, but also as a spatial and emotional experience.

Lidó Rico began his artistic training at the School of Fine Arts in Paris in 1990 and continued a year later at the Faculty of Fine Arts of San Carlos in Valencia. Before finishing his studies he had already been recognized with the Murcia Joven Prize (1989) and later obtained scholarships and distinctions such as the Murcia Regional Plastic Arts Award and the Young Art Exhibition of the Madrid Youth Institute. In 1992 he was selected to create an exterior sculpture for the Murcia Pavilion at the Universal Exposition in Seville, consolidating the beginning of his international projection. Since then, his work has been exhibited in biennials and fairs in different countries, highlighting his participation in events in Medellin, Győr and Alexandria, where he won the Grand Prize in 2005.

His work is part of important international collections and museums such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the IVAM or the Artium Museoa, among others. Throughout his career he has held nearly a hundred exhibitions around the world, establishing himself as a leading figure in contemporary Spanish sculpture.