An experimental approach to materials and their properties is where the sculptures of Robert Cervera are born. In his studio lie bags of concrete, large mixing buckets, and shelves full of assorted tools and instruments. The cool atmosphere is dynamic: numerous completed works line the walls and floor, indicating how those raw, industrial materials are moulded into something new. Of note are the bumpy concrete forms that hold emerging plastic tubing, and green cough syrup transgressing a boundary drawn onto a concrete slab, where organic outlines contrast with rigid structures. Cervera’s work is process-driven: experimentation with materials forge ideas, which further push the investigation, generating a perpetual loop. This approach is notorious, as every wall accommodates pictures for inspiration, maquettes, sketches, paintings and photographs of his robust creations. The space functions for both the physical making of work and peaceful moments of thinking, composing and sketching, the latter seen in the personal attributes dotted around: stacks of CDs, bookshelves, a sound system. Music is vital and a wide variety of genres are continually played – currently, he reveals that “New York avant-garde music from the 60s onwards is competing with European Renaissance”. There is an intense focus upon what he listens to – especially since Cervera studied music and has just started writing his own compositions. As he creates notes by blowing into transparent cylinders, the studio becomes embodied in the abundance of polyphony.
