Itry to make my work convey faith and devotion, being catechetical images where art and theology are combined.
I was born in 1997 in Madrid, into a family with no brotherhood or particularly religious tradition. However, at an early age, I felt a deep sense of faith and devotion.
Thanks to a relative living in San Fernando (Cádiz), I developed a certain interest in Holy Week and the world surrounding the brotherhoods.
The images that paraded through the streets of San Fernando were etched in my mind, and when I arrived in Madrid, I drew and modeled them in clay. This is how my vocation as a religious image-maker was born.
I was born in 1997 in Madrid, into a family with no brotherhood or particularly religious tradition. However, at an early age, I felt a deep sense of faith and devotion.
Thanks to a relative living in San Fernando (Cádiz), I developed a certain interest in Holy Week and the world surrounding the brotherhoods.
The images that paraded through the streets of San Fernando were etched in my mind, and when I arrived in Madrid, I drew and modeled them in clay. This is how my vocation as a religious image-maker was born.
“Art elevates the soul, and is a door that leads you to God.”
In 2014, the sculptor from Jaén, with a workshop in Madrid, Antonio José Martínez Rodríguez welcomed me into his workshop as an apprentice. While training with him, the following year I enrolled at the La Palma School of Art in Madrid, where I completed the Advanced Vocational Training Course in Applied Wood Arts, including subjects such as Clay Modeling, Wood Carving, Artistic Cabinetmaking, and Gilding and Polychromy. After graduating from the Art School, I continued my training at the Higher School of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets in Madrid, specializing in Sculpture. During this academic phase, the work carried out on the altarpiece of San Fabián and San Sebastián in Cuenca Cathedral stands out. A complete restoration process, from the structural aspect to volumetric and pictorial reintegration, gilding, and even the creation of new pieces using water-based gilding with fine gold.
After completing my degree in Conservation and Restoration, I completed my internship in the studio of Sevillian restorer Darío Ojeda.
After completing this internship, Darío hired me for several months to work as a restorer in his studio. Highlights during this period included projects such as the painting of the Ánimas (Dead Souls) in the Parish of Santa María la Blanca in the Sevillian town of Los Palacios y Villafranca and the processional float of the Brotherhood of the Gypsies of Ronda (Málaga).
In January 2023, once my contract with Darío Ojeda expired, I began my solo career as a religious image maker and restorer, opening my own workshop in Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville. Since then, I have worked under contract, creating new works and restoring sacred images for individuals, parishes, and brotherhoods.
I also continue to collaborate on projects with Darío Ojeda and on works by Ramón Cuenca Santo.
I am Álvaro Frías, a religious image maker and restorer, trained in the workshop of Antonio José Martínez Rodríguez. My work focuses on religious sculpture and the restoration of cultural assets, especially wood sculpture. My works combine naturalism with a profound theological and symbolic meaning.
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