David Aliperti's 'Mother Tree' presented by SoMad

SoMad—a femme and queer-led art space in New York—is pleased to present David Aliperti’s meditative and ever-evolving sculptural series, Mother Tree, at Alcova Miami. This distinctive body of work, composed of highly intricate, intimately-scaled sculptures, transports viewers into a vibrant world brimming with imaginative and resplendent flora, fauna, and biomorphic forms, which invite reconsideration of the boundaries between art, design, and experience.  

Developed in collaboration with SoMad, during Aliperti’s time as the organization’s inaugural artist-in-residence, the sculptures in his Mother Tree series are meticulously crafted from air dry clay. This lightweight material allows the artist to construct forms without scaffolding, enabling new, gravity-defying flora to ascend almost weightlessly. Though it takes many hours of meditative handwork to create the numerous petals and stems of each plant, the sculptural process that Aliperti has cultivated fosters an open-ended approach, unencumbered by premeditation or preset expectations where colors and forms can unfold organically.

Each sculpture, whether displayed as part of expansive landscapes or as individual objects, reflects the artist’s personal journey throughout the creation process. Meditative, intuitive, and labor-intensive, these idiosyncratic works quietly communicate a vulnerability and intuition that transcends language, inviting kindness and an embrace of the unknown. At first glance, Aliperti’s sculptures may resemble a succulent, forest, or insect, but upon closer inspection, the forms defy categorization, evoking the universal essence of nature: alive, ever-changing, and full of possibility. 

David Aliperti (b. 1981, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a multimedia artist whose work speaks of imagined worlds, ecosystems, and the intersection of nature, science, and spirituality. After earning BA from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Polimoda in Florence, Italy, Aliperti was awarded a full scholarship by the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris, France to pursue his MFA in Luxury Design. He has worked for and collaborated with brands including Louis Vuitton, Oscar de la Renta, and Collina Strada.