Alfredo Sada was one of the most outstanding Navarrese sculptors of his generation, winning the National Sculpture Prize in 1991. In his short career, he attained a high level of conceptual and technical development, with work that is full of poetry and technical skill. He was self-taught until 1970, when he enrolled at the School of Applied Arts and Crafts in Pamplona/Iruña. The 1972 'Pamplona Encounters' (Encuentros de Pamplona), an international festival of avant-garde art, music, poetry and cinema, greatly influenced his work in wood, leading him to break down the limits between the sculpture and its enveloping space. Between 1979 and 1981 his sculptures underwent a mutation in which he eschewed iconically recognisable models to take a more decidedly abstract focus.
His first solo exhibition was held in 1983 in Pamplona/Iruña. By that time, most of his work was in stone, although in the mid 1980s, inspired by archaeological motifs, he took a strong stylistic and thematic shift, developing discs and circles that twisted in on themselves to create more serene and balanced pieces. The big change came in 1988, when he attended the Contemporary Art Workshops organised by the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. He started to cover his sculptures in lead to evoke some distant past.
His works are found in a number of major collections including the Juan March Foundation, the Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, the Museum of Navarre and the Cultural Centre in Paris. His few solo exhibitions included shows at the Culture Hall, Caja de Ahorros de Navarra (Pamplona/Iruña, 1983), the Museum of La Rioja (Logroño, 1990) and the Galería Emilio Navarro (Madrid, 1990). In 1994, the Caja de Ahorros Municipal de Pamplona held a posthumous exhibition of his work.
Alfredo Sada was one of the most outstanding Navarrese sculptors of his generation, winning the National Sculpture Prize in 1991. In his short career, he attained a high level of conceptual and technical development, with work that is full of poetry and technical skill. He was self-taught until 1970, when he enrolled at the School of Applied Arts and Crafts in Pamplona/Iruña. The 1972 'Pamplona Encounters' (Encuentros de Pamplona), an international festival of avant-garde art, music, poetry and cinema, greatly influenced his work in wood, leading him to break down the limits between the sculpture and its enveloping space. Between 1979 and 1981 his sculptures underwent a mutation in which he eschewed iconically recognisable models to take a more decidedly abstract focus.
His first solo exhibition was held in 1983 in Pamplona/Iruña. By that time, most of his work was in stone, although in the mid 1980s, inspired by archaeological motifs, he took a strong stylistic and thematic shift, developing discs and circles that twisted in on themselves to create more serene and balanced pieces. The big change came in 1988, when he attended the Contemporary Art Workshops organised by the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. He started to cover his sculptures in lead to evoke some distant past.
His works are found in a number of major collections including the Juan March Foundation, the Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, the Museum of Navarre and the Cultural Centre in Paris. His few solo exhibitions included shows at the Culture Hall, Caja de Ahorros de Navarra (Pamplona/Iruña, 1983), the Museum of La Rioja (Logroño, 1990) and the Galería Emilio Navarro (Madrid, 1990). In 1994, the Caja de Ahorros Municipal de Pamplona held a posthumous exhibition of his work.