“It takes true creativity and a strong imagination to transform an item into something else with a completely different function. And that’s exactly what artist Carolina Fontoura Alzaga does to create her “CONNECT Series” of lighting fixtures. She collects old bicycles from junkyards and dumpsters and uses the parts to create beautiful chandeliers and lamps.”
Carolina Fontoura Alzaga (Caro) is a multidisciplinary artist who operates under the name Facaro and is recognized internationally for her unique perspectives on medium and form.
In the CONNECT Series, Caro reimagines used bike parts to create luxurious, cascading chandeliers.
The lights are a careful balance of style and substance. Each piece is unique and no two quite the same. Photos of the Connect Series are of past stock and each piece is made to order and customizable in Caro’s Victorian Bike Punk style.
Some of the Connect upcycled chandeliers are massive and can take months for the artist to make in L.A. studio.
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“Making each chandelier an approximate perfection despite the imperfect nature of the material. I’ve had to surrender to the rhythm of creation and accept regressing in order to progress.”
Carolina Fontoura Alzaga was born in Mexico City, then moved to Denver, where she graduated East High School in 1999. She got her BFA from Metro State, where the chandeliers were her thesis piece, in 2007. Her very first chandelier was donated to Derailer, a bicycle collective that dissolved and gave birth to the Bike Pit, where the chandelier still hangs.
Caro’s Facaro studio focuses on art that explores of the “third function” of materials. She hopes that her creations will inspire dialogue about the importance of eco-friendly up-cycling.
Last year she was invited to show her work at Comme des Garçons Trading Museum in Japan, and she recently finished a ten-foot-long, four-foot-wide chandelier commissioned by Heineken.
For more information about Facaro and her work visit facaro.com.
