The Panamanian architect and designer shows her works in two simultaneous exhibitions in Spain. In the Ibero-American Design Biennial 2022 and in an exhibition entitled Iberoamérica Diseña
Classic furniture that was lost in time and was brought to modernity, resurrected in a contemporary and futuristic version. Functional sculptural objects, created from the mixture of abstraction and transmutation between everyday artifacts and brutalism. These are the designs exhibited by the Panamanian Sofía Alvarado in Madrid, Spain.
The designer architect was selected to present her work in two parallel exhibitions of the eighth edition of the Ibero-American Design Biennial 2022 (BID2022). The first show in which she will be is the ‘2007-2022, 15 years of Ibero-American design’, which seeks to remember the trajectory of the Biennial with 54 relevant designs from all previous editions.
This first exhibition is located at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid until March 26, 2023. The Panamanian’s designs, featured in this exhibition, belong to her 2018 ‘Welcome Back’ collection, which analyzes pieces of classic furniture that they were lost in time and brings them to modernity, seeking to resurrect them in a “contemporary, futuristic and personal version”.
“The uninhibited use of colours, materials and compositions are reminiscent of the interior design of years, where the possibilities went beyond the basics, allowing the creation of free, dynamic and fun spaces that express happiness, meticulousness and individuality. This collection is a tribute to the freedom we have in childhood and that we leave behind when we enter adulthood; knowing that you can grow while maintaining the wisdom of the past in the future,” Alvarado said in a press release.
“The uninhibited use of colours, materials and compositions are reminiscent of the interior design of years where the possibilities went beyond the basics” SOFIA ALVARADO
DESIGNER ARCHITECT
The second exhibition, titled Iberoamérica Diseña, is in the Casa de América. In this exhibition of 44 emblematic pieces of design from Latin America, Spain and Portugal of the last century, the architect presents three pieces from her new ‘Brutantes’ collection, “a series of functional sculptural objects, created from the mixture, abstraction and transmutation between everyday artifacts and brutalism, together with the underlying intention of creating a utilitarian object”, he added.
Alvarado explained that: “The selection of the color orange as a symbol of resignation and the use of metal as the only material reflect homogenization as a rule to be in complete comfort,” described the creator of the pieces that make up the first installment of a series ” which will be in constant expansion, both in form and in its possibilities of materiality”.
Before the international exhibition of her work, the architect expressed that she feels “excited” to show her work through these exhibitions within the framework of the Biennale and with this “to make it known that design is being carried out freely in the region , integral and humanely sustainable, essential components for modern design”.
According to the Architectural Digest of Mexico, “Sofía Alvarado is a young Panamanian architect, artist and designer, whose creations appeal to a sensitive and free design, with a deep love and respect for Latin American know-how.”
The designer architect is a graduate of the School of Architecture of Latin America and the Caribbean of Panama (Isthmus). Her work has been shown in various cultural and commercial exhibitions in Panama, Spain, Brazil and other countries around the world.
She is also the founder of the firm Fi, which focuses on the creation, development and manufacture of art and design pieces. She promotes work in detail, the integral design of things, “it is a tribute to the Latino craftsmanship that has been suggested for years by the insecurity of ignorance.” She uses technology, but she does not abandon the artisans, rather she dignifies and empowers them, so that they take ownership of their work.