Eva Fàbregas: Sculpting Boundaries and Sensations

About Eva Fàbregas

Born in Barcelona in 1988, Eva Fàbregas embarked on her artistic journey while graduating in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona. In 2013 she continued her studies at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London. Now she splits her time between those two cities. In 2010, Fàbregas received a grant from the Botín Foundation (Santander), marking a pivotal moment in her career. Now gaining international recognition, and having previously been featured in the 5 Artists to Discover at Liste Art Fair Basel article by Artsy in 2022, she won the ARCO award for her artwork Crecimiento in 2023. The Catalan artist stands at the forefront of contemporary art, smartly blending sculpture, installation, and drawing into her artistic repertoire.

When orchestrating an exhibition, a pivotal aspect is contemplating and crafting its atmosphere. This crucial element profoundly shapes the visitor’s initial experience, engaging primarily the senses of sight and sound. However, what sets Eva Fàbregas’ pieces and installations apart is their remarkable ability to fully immerse and captivate two senses often overlooked in art: touch and smell. Her works extend an invitation to touch, featuring surfaces that can be at times viscous, others soft, and almost invariably voluminous. Notably, her sculptures, predominantly crafted from silicone and lycra-clad, often emit an aroma that gracefully pervades the space. In essence, Eva’s art consistently transcends to become a palpable and impactful presence, skillfully shaping a multisensory environment within the exhibition.

Boundless Language

Through the use of these malleable materials, Eva delves into complex themes such as relationships, signs, and desire. Her creations manage to evoke a myriad of recognizable elements for the human eye, ranging from organs and glands to viscera, plants, and even elements reminiscent of sexual toys. This artistic language liberates itself from the biological limits that typically define our bodies, weaving a tapestry of novel and unconventional forms.

Because of this, Fàbregas’ sculptures, drawings, and installations navigate the delicate boundary that separates the organic from the inorganic, giving rise to new realities and potential embodiments. Encountering her work immerses us in scenes evocative of science fiction or fantasy, where our gaze is confronted with prosthetics and non-human life forms.

Expanding Possibilities Through Sculpture

Fàbregas’ sculptures redefine our perception of self and space, as air metamorphoses into a “tangible material, shaping volumes, forms, and scales.”¹  Encouraging a profound engagement with the senses, her transformative encounter with artistic expression transcends traditional aesthetic boundaries. Furthermore, each sculpture becomes a vessel for exploring the intricate interplay between materiality and the human experience. Eva makes the viewers reconsider their relationship with art in this dynamic fusion, encouraging them to embrace both the sensory and intellectual dimensions of the creative process.

Within this realm of tactile engagement and sensorial connections, Eva Fàbregas meticulously crafts sculptures that transcend the limitations of language, ushering us into a pre-linguistic realm. Her profound appreciation for touch as a source of knowledge becomes evident, providing viewers with a transformative encounter. Through her artistic connection with touch, she redefines the relationship between the tangible and intangible, the organic and inorganic, offering a fresh perspective on the complexity of human experience.

Exhibition Enredos

The exhibition Enredos by Eva Fàbregas is an immersive exploration of the intuitive and visceral relationships between Fàbregas’ sculptures, drawings, and selected works from the Fundación Botín art collection. The installation unfolds as a living organism, intertwining within the architectural space on a grand scale, captivating visitors with its complex and often unexpected dialogues around desire, corporeality, playfulness, and disturbance.

Highlight: Oozing

Emerging as an uncontrollable organic growth, the sculpture Oozing stands in this exhibition. This site-specific installation is a monumental accumulation of bodies that overwhelms the visitor with its immense scale. Like this, Fàbregas’ piece evokes a profound sense of insignificance.  The artwork’s impact extends beyond the visual, stirring emotions and prompting contemplation in the viewer.

At the same time, Fàbregas’ emphasis on the tactile and sensual is evident in her drawings series Polifilia. In these pieces, gouache acrylic drawings invite touch, defying their two-dimensional nature. The journey through the exhibition unfolds with sculptures that twist the space, breaking through walls, and offering an immersive experience. Eventually, visitors encounter a careful selection of works that delve into the intimacy of desire, change, and the potential of the human body.

Devouring Lovers at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2023)

Devouring Lovers is a monumental installation showcased at Hamburger Bahnhof. 70 soft sculptures by Eva Fàbregas occupy the floors, walls, and metal girders of the historic train station. As a result, these structures transform the space into a living organism. While going beyond gender boundaries, Fàbregas challenges traditional perceptions of representation and human interaction.

Eva Fàbregas’ creativity goes beyond conventional boundaries, fostering a collective introspection and transformation. Her sculptures invite viewers to think with their fingers, creating a symphony of sensation where the pieces seem to even have their very own pulsations. With air as a sculptural medium and a commitment to challenging societal norms, Fàbregas reshapes perceptions of self, space, and desire. Without a doubt, this Catalan artist is leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary art scene.