Aere Sculptures, the company that strives to confirm the success of Lladró

For Pablo Picasso, sculpture was the art of intelligence. The trouble is that until now most artists have put that intelligence at the service of their own complacency. They sculpted to praise their work or to praise other famous people. The founders of air sculpture whose proposal is to sculpt our own heroes, loved ones or indelible moments of our lives and capture them in handcrafted bronze sculptures.

The idea corresponds Angel Garcia Reaperartist and sculptor, and his partner Ferdinand Valle, more at the forefront of business development. Both founded Aere Sculpture in Guadalajara, where they are headquartered, in 2021, although the foundry work is carried out at another Madrid-based company in which Segador also has a stake. The idea is to sell handcrafted, commissioned sculptures in bronze and other materials, such as steel, wood and epoxy, that commemorate unforgettable personal moments, to our loved ones or as a very special gift for someone else.

“We have received some of the most emotional orders. For example, a photographer who wanted to turn a photo of his wedding into a sculpture and give it to his partner for the birth of his daughter. we titled it A moment and all eternity. Or when a mother called us who wanted to give her father something special by taking him for a walk with her little one in gratitude for him taking care of him,” remembers Ángel Segador.

handmade sculptures

The sculptures, made by hand, are unique and unrepeatable because they remove the mold after ordering. Each personalized work of art carries a certificate of authenticity and a hand-drawn drawing, both signed by the author. Graphic material of the entire creation is also included, from the first sketches to wax modelling, casting or patination. The result is a fully personalized sculpture, with standard measurements ranging from 7 to 10 cm in height, in which, more than the characteristics of each character, a moment and a special memory are reflected and immortalized.

The price of each piece starts at 600 euros and up depending on the number of figures you want to include in the sculpture and the decoration or setting you choose. Orders come through their website, where contact details appear, although many customers reach out to them through social media, where they try to stay active.

The business is aimed at both end customers and corporate customers in the gifts sector. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to find gifts that are unusual, that surprise, that ensure exclusivity, differentiation and, above all, feelings,” the partners explain. In addition to the originality of the offer, another aspect with which they want to differentiate themselves is the close treatment of the customer.

With just three months to go it’s still too early to report results, but according to Fernando Valles “we’ve found that the product fits the market and that the people who discover us are excited”. The dream is to gain visibility and gradually grow until it reaches a level similar to that of its reference company in its time: Lladró, the brand of porcelain figurines and products born in the house of the Lladró brothers in Valencia , and that ended up selling his pieces around the world, including his own museum and gallery in New York.

They have no doubt that this is a good time for art, because this industry has never been closely linked to economic crises. They claim, yes, that the survival of the companies dedicated to it depends on their management and their adaptation to the times.

And why Aere?” We asked Valles about the meaning of the company name. “It’s actually an acronym that corresponds to the initial A of art, the E of the emotions your story conveys, the R of memories and the final E of course the sculptures. But also the Latin word Aere means bronze, the basic material of our work,” he explains later to justify the presence of wings crowning the company name in the logo. “These represent the emotion and eternal human desire to fly. It’s like an invitation to the customer to fly with us.”