ISABEL ENGLEBERT
Postconceptual artist. Isabel Englebert studied Economics, and graduated in Communication Sciences at Universidad del Salvador (2002). She was trained in design at Central Saint Martins, London, and jewelry at L'Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels, Paris. She participated in numerous courses in different fields, such as Medical Neurosciences at Duke University (2020). In 2023, Englebert completed a postgraduate course in Contemporary Art Technologies at the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras of the Universidad de Buenos Aires. This year, she was chosen to take part in the prestigious Glogauair Berlin residence. Since 2012, she has been working on interdisciplinary projects in the crossroads of art, science, technology and philosophy, within the framework of her studio Isabel Englebert Studio.
Englebert is currently taking part in the exhibition “Echoes of the Invisible”, where she is presenting new pieces from the series “Presence of the Absence” at the Lorena del Pilar Art Gallery, located within Galerías Larreta in Buenos Aires. Also, in February, her video art piece "Threads of Identity" was part of the exhibition at London Contemporary, hosted by Elements Contemporary ArtSpace. Last year, she was chosen to take part in the prestigious Glogauair Berlin residence. Additionally, her work "It took me 4 months, 9 days, and 23 hours to complete 2 kilometers with a pen" was selected for the 18th Edition of the Arte Laguna Prize, exhibited at the Arsenale Nord in Venice from November 16 to December 8, 2024. Last November, her work "Amateur Gods" was part of the exhibition "Cosecharás tu ciencia" at the Evita Higher Museum of Fine Arts - Palacio Ferreyra in Córdoba, Argentina. In September 2024, she participated in the exhibition "La advocación de los metales," where she presented her latest series, "Solutio," at the Olivares Group gallery in Buenos Aires. Her series "Amateur Gods" was part of the Alter Ego Exhibition held from June 12 to June 22, 2024, at the Blanc Art Space, New York, where she received an honorable mention from the See Me community. This series "Amateur Gods" was also selected to be presented as a "Special Project" in Pinta Miami in December 2023. The limited edition multiple of this series was specially developed and exhibited in The Bass Museum in Miami. Last year, she was also invited to present her series "J. Doe, an Abstract Identity" at the "Biohack the Planet" Conference in Austin. This series was selected as a finalist for Bienal Sur 2023.
In the last year, Isabel Englebert has been conducting join research with MIT, in cooperation with EvLab Language Lab. She has collaborated with the Lab team, exchanging experiences and knowledge, and conducting field tests related to language and neuroscience, developing a series called “Brain Conversations” to be exhibited at MIT TBD. Curated by Art Innovation Gallery, “Presence of the Absence,” the video component of this collaboration, was showcased at Times Square during the Armory Show from September 2–8, 2024.
At Miami Art Week 2022, the artist led a project together with Pinta Miami and Ella Fontanals Cisneros that brought the first traditional art fair and the first major collector to the Metaverse. She also participated as an artist and moderated a panel entitled "Traditional art and the new virtual environment", alongside speakers such as the director of Pinta Miami, the leadership of CIFO and the director of Decentraland. In 2021, sponsored by the European Cultural Center, MCAD and FIU, Englebert participated in Miami Art Week, exhibiting a large format sculpture and an NFT in the IlluMia Festival, which was screened in Downtown Miami’s public space. She has been named Decentraland’s Museum District Ambassador (2021), an entitlement that has enabled her to work with virtuality and NFTs in depth.
Her NFT “Wannabe Porvenir” is currently exhibited at the Museum District, constituting part of the Museum’s collection. Her work "If with your hands..." has been selected as a finalist for the Visual Arts Itaú Prize (2021). She exhibited at Diderot Art Gallery, Buenos Aires (2020), and at Praxis Gallery, Buenos Aires (2019). Her sculptural series have been exhibited at the Design & Art Center at the Patagonia Foundation, Buenos Aires (2019), where her piece “Mies” is part of the Foundation’s permanent exhibition, and at Casa FOA, Buenos Aires (2018). Her work has been portrayed in numerous magazines, as well as her research and thoughts, which have been published in the art magazine “Arte al Día”. She has been selected by Forbes as one of the “35 under 35”.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Since the beginning of my practice, my work has served as a tool for self-analysis, introspection and research. Having grown up in a family with traditional values, receiving rigorous academic training and pursuing a corporate career in a multinational, I always respected the classic parameters, without questioning them. The path had been laid out, and I was exactly who I was supposed to be.
At a certain point in my journey, as I began to undergo change and forge new ways of thinking, I began to ask myself questions such as: what exactly makes us who we are? How much of the other is in me? How do I construct myself?
Today, my practice—strongly self-referential—dives into the concept of identity, reflecting on the ultimate idea of the collective and anonymous subject. I raise the question of the self-construction of the SELF, in these times of revolutionary technological advances and genetic engineering, the principle of eternal change and constant fluidity together with the never more current concept of media hyperreality, intertwined with a surrealistic gaze.
Is it possible to make an abstraction of identity, taking into account the social aspect and the media that condition and influence the construction of the self? What types of changes can a person undergo without losing his or her identity or ceasing to exist?
A powerful impulse drives my research: a need to know, to reach the truth. But is it even possible to arrive at any truth? This question has led me to become obsessed with science, on the one hand, and with philosophy, on the other. This, together with my interest in new technologies, forms the basis of all my research. Each topic I address requires a deep study, a complete immersion, training and consulting the best experts.
Simultaneously, I experiment with materials—exploring different colors, scales, volumes, and shapes—to observe their visual responses. This process, which I call adjudication, is necessary to find the right material to articulate the concept I aim to express.