His new solo exhibition at Rome’s Spazio Nuovo is called It was fun for a while. It is curated by Guillaume Maitre and Paulo Perez Mouriz.

May 24 – July 8, 2023

Aldo Chaparro’s sculptures made with bent steel are the result of his ongoing relationship with the material. Although steel has been in existence since ancient times, the steel sheets used by Chaparro are characteristic of the industrial era. Their slimness, neatness and their reflective quality can only be achieved through the use of machines, and because of that, the sculptures’ violent nature creates great contrast with the nature of the sheets, as Chaparro kicks, bends, and jumps on them using nothing but his body and his own weight.

The objects resulting of his confrontation with the material portray the process that transformed it into an artistic object. In this way, his bent steels can be interpreted as self-portraits, capturing the energy released by Chaparro on a specific date and time. As the accurate mirroring on the steel sheets distorts itself, the sculptures allow us to experience reality on a parallel way. They trigger our sense of exploration so sight can transform into knowledge using the sculptures’ surface as its theater. The sculptures create reflections (on both senses) on several and very different ways. By their reflecting power, they transform the body in an alternate and untouchable version of ourselves.