Daniel Steegmann Mangrané: A Leaf-Shaped Animal Draws the Hand

Published in conjunction with the solo show at Pirelli HangarBicocca in collaboration with Institut d’art contemporain (Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes) and CCS Bard, this constitutes the most complete monographic study on Daniel Steegmann Mangrané (Barcelona, 1977). Covering Steegmann Mangrané's work from the late 1990s to the present with over a hundred installations, drawings, sculptures, photographs and films, the catalogue includes texts by the art historians Kaira M. Cabañas and FloraKatz, and a conversation between the artist and the writer and curator Lauren Cornellas well as texts by Nathalie Ergino, and the curators of the show at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Lucia Aspesi and Fiammetta Griccioli.

Daniel Steegmann Mangrané’s work is characterized by a poetic approach in which geometric and abstract forms intersect with natural elements and originate an imaginary realm with recurrent motifs like leaves, trees and insects that prompt reflection on the reality we inhabit. The artist uses different media for the creation of his works, according priority to amodus operandi where by technical characteristics are intrinsically intertwined withthe process of production. Mangrané’s interest in biology has led him to investigate complex ecological systems and introduce the natural world into his works with numerous references to the rainforest in Brazil, including branches, leaves and insects. Combined with geometric shapes and abstract motifs, these prompt reflection on the complex dynamics of the elements surrounding us.