As an architect and artist, I’m always looking for the large- and small-scale interrelationships of natural and man-made forms and structures. Out of recycled sterling silver, I make small, wearable sculptures based on the dynamic geometric and architectural shapes that surround me. The hoppers, chutes, bins and their supporting structures create vessels and conduits for the seasonal cycles of fuel, water and food – industrial extensions of the natural systems of streams, soils and plants that define the Minnesota rural environment in which I live.
Juan Alejandro Fried Ortiz de Zarate is an architect and artist whose work reflects the diversity of his ancestry, his urban experiences, and a new home in the countryside. Juan studied art history and architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota. As an architect and urban designer, he completed award-winning designs for public agencies and community groups. As an artist, he continues his study of form, space, and materials on a more intimate scale.
He started forging and fusing his geometric, architectonic work in the winter of 2014. He is a member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths and the Minnesota Jewelry Arts Guild (where he is currently a board member.)
