Clara Sanchez Sala

Clara Sánchez Sala - Omphalós

Técnica: Bronze and metal

Biografía del Artista: Clara Sánchez Sala is a contemporary artist born in 1987 in Alicante, Spain. Her artistic training began at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Valencia, where she graduated in 2010. She subsequently continued her training with a master's degree in Research and Creation in Art, at the same institution. In 2014, she obtained a scholarship at the Institute for Research and Experimentation in Art and Criticism (IIEAC) at the Complutense University of Madrid. Clara Sánchez's work focuses on the exploration of connections between scientific, literary and technological data, from a poetic point of view. Her artistic research focuses on three fundamental themes: the fictional dimension of cartographic representation, reflection on the landscape as a space of encounter and the Earth as the primordial experience of man. Through her work, Clara Sánchez seeks to create a discourse always referring to the complex world of fiction that we humans generate in that incessant de-estrangement that consists of the encounter with the external world, and which we usually call: "real". Her work spans a variety of formats, from painting and sculpture to installation and video art. Clara Sánchez's work has been exhibited in various galleries and museums in Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, and the United States. Some of her solo exhibitions include "Hueso" at My Name's Lolita Art Gallery in Valencia in 2014, "Cosmogonías" at Punto Gallery in Valencia in 2016, and "Mecánica de la Mirada" at Pepita Lumier Gallery in Valencia in 2019. In 2016, she received the Focus-Abengoa International Painting Award in Seville, Spain, and in 2018, she was selected to participate in the Casa Velázquez Artistic Residency in Madrid. Clara Sánchez's work is part of public and private collections in Spain and abroad, including the Focus-Abengoa Collection, the Contemporary Art Collection of the University of Valencia, and the Coca-Cola Foundation Contemporary Art Collection.

Don't let me tangere A navel is like a knot. But the knot is a closed connection, like the symbol of infinity where time is eternal. However, in this carnal knot time does not cease to exist, its shape and texture change with the different stages of life reminding you that your time is finite. Five centuries ago, the navel was a burning issue for theologians and painters. If neither Eve nor Adam had been born of a woman, there was no reason for the remains of their umbilical cord to exist, that is, for them to have navels. But, if they lacked them, were they not imperfect as human beings? While theologians argued, painters tried not to compromise. They increased the size of the vine leaves to hide both the genitals and the navels of Adam and Eve. This dilemma did not seem to be a concern in the Paleolithic. In various excavations, several "Venus" have been found with a noticeable and deep navel in the abdomen, as if time had been the same for them as for any mortal. Perhaps this umbilical debate is not just a question of time, but a reflection of a specific concern in a given time and space. This umbilical form of time, on the one hand eternal, but on the other perishable, is what seems to have also permeated the historicization of the arts, in which artists bear historical witness to the spirit of their time and their society. Noli me tangere explores the representation of the human body (after all, it is the subject capable of enduring any situation and confronting it), based on erotic forms such as navels, breasts and lips from a classical, but also current, historical or cultural point of view. The bare lips of a classical Greek bust painted with carmine that further emphasize its nakedness, several bronze navels connected by chains like umbilical cords tied together and that impede the passage of the spectator, or the print of a woman's breasts made at the moment of learning of her state of pregnancy, are some of the pieces that establish a dialogue focused on the human aspects that are hidden within the systems of temporal interpretation. Likewise, the title of the project Noli me tangere (Do not touch me), are the words that Jesus Christ addresses to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, since his body no longer belongs to that time or space, but beyond that, it also alludes to an action that continues in time (Do not hold me back), let time pass. Bio Clara Sánchez Sala (Alicante, 1987) has a degree in Fine Arts from UCLM, Cuenca; a Master's Degree in Theory of Photography and Artistic Projects, UEM, Madrid and a Master's Degree in Research in Art and Creation, UCM, Madrid. Throughout her career she has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions, including those at Centre del Carme, Valencia; Fundación Juan March: Museum of Abstract Art, Cuenca; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid; Fundación Marso, Mexico City, Mexico; Museo Nacional Soares Dos Reis, Porto; Fundación Otazu, Pamplona; Centro Cultural Las Cigarreras; Alicante, La Laboral, Gijón; EACC, Castellón and Centro Cultural Conde Duque, Madrid. She has recently received Grants for Creation from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport; the XXIX Circuits of Plastic Arts Award from the Community of Madrid; Injuve Grants for young creation; and scholarships for residencies for young artists abroad from the Community of Madrid. His work is part of collections such as the Contemporary Art Collection of the Generalitat Valenciana, DKV, CA2M and the Otazu Foundation, among others.