Fernando Casasempere works with clay, ceramic, and industrial matter, redefining the possibilities of these materials for contemporary sculpture. Through a fascination with the imprint left by humans on the earth, Casasempere draws on archaeology, geology, landscape and classical and modern architecture to subvert sculptural archetypes, while speaking to urgent global ecological and social concerns through the lens of his native Chile.
Casasempere has exhibited extensively in the UK, Chile, North America, Japan and Europe and is renowned for monumental installations including the critically acclaimed Out of Sync at Somerset House, London (2012) - which inspired Paul Cummins's and Tom Piper's WWI commemorative centenary installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at Tower of London (2014) - and Back to the Earth at New Art Centre, Salisbury (2005). Forthcoming commissions (2021) include permanent works near London's Tottenham Court Road Station (Derwent) and at Henrietta House (CBRE).
Forthcoming and selected solo exhibitions include: New Art Centre, Reino Unido (2024); Francis Gallery, Los Ángeles (2024); Galería Artespacio, Chile (2024) Galería Helene Aziza, París (2024). Bloomberg Space, London ( 2022 )the San Diego Museum of Art (2022), Casa América, Madrid (2020), Ivorypress Gallery, Madrid (2019), Parafin Gallery, London (2018), Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo (2017), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago de Chile (2016), Parafin, London (2015), Somerset House, London (2012), and Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Santiago de Chile (2012).
Selected group exhibitions include: Museum of Royal Worcester, Worcester (2018), Frieze Sculpture Park, London (2016), Sculpture in the City, London (2016), Sotheby's Beyond Limits Exhibitions, London (2008), New Art Centre, Salisbury (2008), Jerwood Foundation, Alcester (2007).
Selected collections include: Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Harvard Museum, Cambridge; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Contemporary Art Museum, Osaka; International Museum of Ceramics, Faenza; San Diego Museum of Art.
Fernando Casasempere was born in Santiago de Chile in 1958 and trained at Scola Forma and Escuela de Arte y Oficios, Barcelona. He moved to London in 1997, where he currently lives and works.