Mario de Vega

Thursday, February 16th, ISSUE presents sound artists Mario de Vega and Cecilia Lopez in solo performance, showcasing their varied approaches to spatialized sound environments.

Known for his electronic improvisation and use of infrasound, Mario de Vega works in a variety of media, including performance, design, video, sculpture and photography -- all coinciding in an impressive collection of site-specific sonic interventions and acoustic events.

De Vega presents work exploring the physicality of listening, stretching the extremities of human perception. Working with silence, vibration, ambiguity and the spatial realities imposed by an exhibition context, de Vega observes sound as a psychological event, which automatically incorporates the possibility of a non-happening as well. As a sound artist, de Vega’s works often act as translations of high and low frequencies into audible sounds -- displaying a particular interest in using infrasound to produce visceral, psychoacoustic reactions in the listener.

Exploring the physicality of listening and the threshold of human perception, Mario de Vega researches the materiality of sound, the vulnerability of systems, materials and individuals, and the potential of unstable systems. He has been guest artist and lecturer at Universität der Künste Berlin, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, Technische Universität Berlin, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts de Paris, Centro de Diseño, Cine y Televisión, Braunschweig University of Art, KW Institute of Contemporary Art, Laboratorio Arte Alameda, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo, Goucher College, ArtPlay Center, LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, between others. His work has been exhibited in Mexico, Canada, United States, Chile, South Africa, India, Russia, Japan and in most of the main capitals in Europe. He lives and works in Berlin and Mexico City.