Artist Statement

Sergio Roger’s work is rooted in his life-long fascination with visual representations of beauty in ancient civilizations, especially the Graeco-Roman era and its modern counterparts. The artist reinterprets and subverts iconic elements of art history to allow us to break free from preconceived ideas about ancient civilizations. The medium of subversion is the array of materials he employs: where there was marble, he resorts to natural textile fibers.

Each of Sergio Roger’s works is unique and is created from the finest textiles, which mostly date back to the early 20th century: the artist himself carefully sources these materials from antique shops. Selected fabrics include antique linen and raw silk which bring history and soul into his work. 

The technical mastery and the complex elaboration of his textile sculptures are reflected in every stitch and detail. His works are born from the deep investigation of ancestral craft techniques, which are approached with a renewed and contemporary vision, and, at the same time, honor the story behind each fiber and its role throughout history.  Antiquity is the main source of inspiration for the artist. Roger questions our perception of the past and describes History as a field that must be revisited with a critical eye. He sees archeology as a field of study  replete with fiction and its own personal mythology, given that  it was first extensively codified and practiced in the 19th century, right at the peak of colonialism. Thus it imposed a Euro-centric vision on our way of interpreting the past.

Through his opus, Roger invites us to deconstruct our preconceived vision of the past and to reflect on the permanence and idealism associated with traditional art.