The Sara Albrecht Emerge Artist Talk: Selva Aparicio

About the Event

Selva Aparicio discusses her practice in which she often uses natural materials such as oyster shells, leaves, and cicada wings to delve into questions regarding death, memory, mourning, and grief. Sharing points in the arc of her work, Aparicio provides context for the MCA’s new Emerge acquisition, her Ode to the Unclaimed Dead (2022), consisting of a pine casket—synonymous with pauper’s graves and potter’s fields—delicately studded with dandelion seeds, the ultimate symbol of hope and potential. The annual Emerge-sponsored artist talk honors Sara Albrecht, MCA Trustee and former Chair of Emerge.

Access Information

English CART captioning is available for this talk.

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About the Artist

Selva Aparicio (b. 1987, Barcelona, Spain; lives between Alfred, NY, and Chicago, IL) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans installation and sculpture, exploring themes of memory, intimacy, and the temporality of life. Raised on the outskirts of Barcelona, in a land once cherished by the Catalan bourgeoisie and later abandoned during the Spanish Civil War, Aparicio draws inspiration from this evolving landscape—first a refuge for squatters and outcasts, now a reclaimed natural park. Her early connection to nature fueled her profound interest in the ephemeral. Her practice is marked by a unique reverence for the discarded, delving into the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

Aparicio studied Sculpture at Escola Massana de Barcelona, earned her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015, and received her MFA in Sculpture from Yale University in 2017. She has exhibited internationally at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; DePaul Art Museum, Chicago; The Museum of Art and Design, NY; The International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago; Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT; Can Mario Museum, Spain; The Kyoto International Craft Center, Japan; Instituto Cervantes, New York; and the Centre de Cultura Contemporanea de Barcelona, among others. Aparicio’s selected accolades include the JUNCTURE Fellowship in Art and International Human Rights (2016), the Blair Dickinson Memorial Prize (2017), the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation’s Artadia Award (2022), the 3Arts HMS Fund Award (2023), and the Burke Prize from the Museum of Art and Design, New York (2023). Aparicio was named one of the 2020 breakout artists in Chicago by Newcity Art. Her sculpture Auto-da-Fé, exhibited at EXPO Chicago 2023, was donated to the DePaul Art Museum with funds from the Inaugural Barbara Nessim Acquisition Prize, and her piece Ode to the Unclaimed Dead was recently acquired for the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. She recently inaugurated a permanent public art commission for Belgium’s Beaufort 2024 Triennale. Aparicio currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Alfred University, New York.