Artist Spotlight - Mario Molins
Biography
Mario Molins: Sculpted poetry and the sacred bond with the earth
Mario Molins(1983, Binéfar, Huesca, Spain) is a multidisciplinary artist with a restless spirit, whose work is a tangible testament to his deep and inescapable connection with Nature. A Fine Arts graduate from the University of Barcelona with doctoral studies, the essence of his art emerges from a mystic dialogue with his homeland, Binéfar.
Catharsis for an Olive Tree / 2019 / Olive Wood / San Esteban de Litera (Huesca) / Growing dimensions
His career as a sculptor has crossed borders, taking his vision to practically all of Spain and major world capitals, including exhibitions in Beijing, Brussels, Paris, and New York. This cultural exchange has only strengthened his roots, allowing his sculptural language to be nourished by new landscapes and visions without losing its Aragonese soul.
"Catharsis de ciprés" / 2014 / Cypress and Bronze / José Antonio Labordeta Park (Zaragoza) / 800 x 120 x 120 cm
The poetic connection to his origins is evident in monumental interventions. Highlights include works such as "Catharsis" (2014), a piece made of cypress in the José Antonio Labordeta Grand Park in Zaragoza, and "Ascla IV", a wooden sculpture created to be gradually degenerated by the territory until it completely disintegrates (2014), conceived for the sculptural garden of the CDAN, Art and Nature Center - Fundación Beulas (Huesca).
Interrelated Landscape / 2023 / Black Pine / Posets-Maladeta Natural Park (Huesca) / 500 x 45 x 45 cm
More recently, he has left his mark with a significant intervention (2023) in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park and an intervention using local stone in Manresa (2024), demonstrating how the raw material of the earth becomes the body of his artistic thought produced by the mystique of knowing himself to be part of Nature.
Don't touch my seeds / 2020 / Direct carving and staining / Variable size
This profound lyricism is not limited to sculpture. Molins' interdisciplinary facet is revealed in his passion for writing, a direct vehicle for expressing the sacred bond he feels with the environment. He has published two collections of poetry: "La corteza del corazón" (The Heart's bark, 2020) and "Con el corazón en la mano" (With the heart in hand, 2023), where poetry is the echo of his manual work. To understand the source of his inspiration and the essence of his work, one only needs to watch the emotion of his video on YouTube, "Mi abuelo es un olivo" (My Grandfather is an Olive Tree), a piece that reveals the generational transmission of that unconditional love for nature.
Inner Language, Outer Skin / 2019 / Direct carving of walnut wood / 160 x 35 x 20 cm - 70 x 20 x 30 cm - 160 x 34 x 19 cm
His worth and talent have been widely recognized. Among his accolades, the Award for Aragonese Artist under 35 granted by the AACA (Aragonese Association of Art Critics) in 2016 (a recognition he had also received in 2015) stands out, along with numerous prizes in prestigious competitions such as the Salvador Victoria International Art Competition in 2022. His work is now part of numerous public and private collections, cementing Mario Molins as an essential figure who transforms matter into poetry and tradition into avant-garde.
Hidden Darkness / 2019 / Direct carving of cypress and dyed with India ink / 143 x 130 x 45 cm
Artist Statement
## Mario Molins Statement: The Poetry of Matter and the Mystic Itinerary of Survival
My work is the result of a valuation mística de la naturaleza and is conceived as a spiritual itinerary that seeks to unveil the transcendence residing in matter. I am a multidisciplinary artist with a practice deeply rooted in the ecological sense of creation, understanding art not as the production of objects, but as a ritual of survival. My process is a sacred dialogue that transforms the inert into a new life, converting the sculpture in an act of prayer and revelation.
Black Tears / 2022 / Direct carving and staining of cypress wood / 133 x 32 x 30 cm
### Sculpture: Dialogue, Catharsis, and Territory
The main body of my work focuses on wood sculpture, using materials exclusively sourced from dead trees. This choice is an ethical principle and a conceptual starting point: through artistic intervention, a catharsis is produced by imbuing an inert trunk with a new life.
Fragmented Order / 2024 / Direct carving, turning, assemblage, and staining of walnut and beech woods / 30 x 30 x 30 cm
By employing direct carving (often using a chainsaw, blowtorch, and natural dyes), I allow the tree to express itself, revealing its inner language and memory, and establishing a fruitful dialogue with the environment. My works are essential forms that seek the essence of matter, free from anecdotes, and that reflect the contradictions of human existence.
The curve of our horizon / 2024 / Direct carving, turning, assemblage, and staining of holm oak and beech wood / 320 x 35 x 35 cm
This philosophy extends to my concept of Land Art, where in situ interventions become crucial. Sculptures like Catharsis or the carvings in centenary olive trees without uprooting them from the soil, not only honor the cycle of life and death, but establish a communion where the sculpture itself sprouts or is progressively integrated by the environment, demonstrating the regeneration of nature.
The Life Before the Life / 2025 / Direct carving, turning, assemblage, and staining of holm oak and beech wood / 150 x 35 x 35 cm
### Ecological Engraving and Monotype: The Trace of Consciousness
My practice in graphic work focuses on engraving with innovative techniques, aside from the traditional burin or graphite, and always from an eco-conscious perspective. I use monotypes created with ecological ink that I personally manufacture from the soot and remnants of the wood used in the sculptures.
The darkness of our eyes / 2025 / Direct carving, turning, assemblage, and staining of Teka and beech wood / 25 x 25 x 10 cm
This creative path, which includes series like Lux in tenebris, seeks to explore spirituality through the movement of circles that symbolize the density and regeneration of the cosmos. It is the trace of iron and fire—a purifying and transforming element—that marks the seed onto the paper, a burnt relief with allusions to fertility and the incessant cycle of life.
Another cavern / 2024 / Direct carving, turning, assemblage, and staining of olive and beech woods / 70 x 40 x 30 cm
### Collage and Works on Paper: The Poetics of Fragmentation
My work on paper functions as a sketch of my sculptural works and my poems, a reflection of my thoughts and my love for nature.
Secret Haiku of a Root II / 2018 / Collage of wood splinters and Indian ink on paper / 50 x 50 x 4 cm
In this section, the splinter—the residual fragment from carving—is transformed into the essential material. Through collages and works on paper, I paint and compose with wood splinters (such as fig wood), configuring these pieces as if they were visual poems. These drawings, based on fractals and contemplative reiterations, like the Retorno series, seek to return life to a new tree in a very poetic way, with a layer of Zen philosophy. It is the manifestation of my profound lyricism where the fragment unites to symbolize birth and continuity.
Haiku at the beginning of spring / 2022 / Collage of wood splinters on panel and India ink / 100 x 100 x 10 cm
My art, in all its facets, is a reminder that in the secularized age, art can still offer us a passage toward the mystical, reminding us that sculpture can still be a revelation.
https://www.instagram.com/mariomolinsescultor/
http://mariomolins.com/
The answer / 2023 / Ecological ink on paper / 90 x 60 cm
