Luis Fernando Zapata, Sarcófago No. 7 (Sarcophagus No. 7), 1992-1994 has been acquired by the Leslie Lohmann Museum of New York. This outstanding artwork is part of his iconic series "Sarcofagos," created at his studio in Paris, France, during a period of great productivity in contrast to the deterioration of his health due to his HIV infection.
Each piece of his work becomes a container for memories and a symbol of the eternal. Crafted from pulped paper (papier mache), they are more than sculptures: they are profound reflections on absence, time, and what truly transcends.
The sarcophagi, with their emptiness laden with meaning, invite us to question what remains after a loss. Inspired by his travels to Turkey and Egypt, Zapata reinterprets the funerary traditions of these ancient cultures, creating a contemporary artistic language that explores our relationship with death and transcendence toward an immaterial dimension.
