Tenerife Sculptor Carmen Méndez Marco's Global Rise

Young Tenerife sculptor Carmen Méndez Marco (born in La Laguna in 2001) is seeing her career take off. She recently had exhibitions in Italy and has more planned for Madrid and beyond the Canary Islands. According to a recent interview, she has refined her unique way of working with wood, and her international profile is growing fast.

Méndez Marco feels a strong connection to wood, which is key to her art. She explains that she chose wood instinctively, drawn to how it feels and looks. The detailed sanding process, which takes a lot of effort, taught her the value of perseverance. A major moment in her artistic journey was visiting a basalt sculptor's workshop when she was 16. This experience truly shaped her calling.

Her time studying at the Luján Pérez School in Gran Canaria was vital. She credits the artistic atmosphere of Vegueta and the work of sculptors like Martín Chirino and Manolo González for influencing her. Being so involved in the Canarian art scene was crucial for her style to develop.

Carmen Méndez Marco's sculptures have been shown at People Gallery Art in Madrid, twice at the Good Energy Festival at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santa Cruz de La Palma, and at the Espacio Camp interior design studio in Tenerife's capital. This year, she was chosen for Merkarte, a program by the Tenerife Island Council for new artists. Last week, her pieces were also displayed at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica di Venezia in Italy.

The artist stresses that she needs to plan constantly, as she juggles many projects at once. One upcoming event is an exhibition of a sculpture first shown in Venice. It will be displayed at People Gallery Art in Madrid, on Cristóbal Bordiú street, starting March 25th. After that, from June onwards, she has one project scheduled outside the Canary Islands and another within the Islands.

In her workshop, Méndez Marco starts each piece with a fresh outlook. She spends the first few hours roughly shaping the material. Even though she doesn't fully know the final outcome at the start, she trusts how the piece will develop. This process of transformation, which she finds hard to put into words, guides the material into its sculptural shape and lets her see her own artistic and personal growth.