Aude Ardere. Vivian Alarcón

Vivian Alarcón explores the spirit, energy, and light that inhabit life. Through glass, spiritual symbols, and organic materials, she gives physical form to her invisible imaginary of perceptions, transforming emotion, memory, and vibration into matter. In her work, the soul crystallizes while the body is released. Each piece within this sculptural installation is crafted using a blowtorch, following traditional glassmaking techniques and incorporating other materials that enter into an intimate dialogue to reinforce her conceptual language. Her practice reflects a personal and introspective journey, drawing from encoded references to ancient spiritual alchemy.

In this exhibition, she presents this journey as an initial process of purification and revelation. In a world of immediate answers, she seeks to reclaim alchemy not as dogma, but as a forgotten map of human transformation—recovering past wisdom to better understand and question our own nature. In this first phase, Vivian investigates how the soul is extracted from the physical body, along with the tensions and release that this transition entails. She thus subtly positions herself at the first stage of the process: calcination, governed by fire as the ultimate master—the force that burns away the superficial veil and reveals what remains: the essence of truth. Inspired by mysticism, hermetic tradition, and the fleeting balance between the material and the ethereal, these works are portraits of the intangible, inviting the viewer into a contemplative dialogue on presence and transcendence.