Fritzia Irizar

Fritzia Irizar’s conceptual artworks test the elusive forces of value as it is expressed in economic and symbolic forms including labor, precious materials, money, and myths.

Her work refers to the flow of money on an individual scale and to the consumption of the work of art.

Several of her projects have incorporated diamonds and salt–both crystals and similar in appearance, both used as currency in different historical moments.Salt is prized for its food preserving properties. By contrast, diamonds have been valued only for the purity of their appearance. The notions of these materials’ value are subject to the beliefs and fantasies, a complexity alluded to in her pieces.

Fritzia Irizar works recognizes that history and science are almost fictions, built on small surfaces of knowledge and are subject to the decision of a few individuals. However, they are fictions that we want to hold: as acts of faith, of belonging, of will or certainty

Taken out of its typical environments, the currency Irizar uses in her works takes on symbolic qualities that speak to the construction of desire and value.