16 - ALEJANDRO BOTUBOL (Cádiz, 1979).

ALEJANDRO BOTUBOL (Cádiz, 1979). “Bear Sandwich,” 2012. 8-inch Qee Bear figure, made of vinyl and coated with silver foil. Original artistic intervention on a Toy2R model. Dated and bearing the manufacturer’s mark on the base. Work reproduced in: *Swab Toy’z by FLS*, ed. Josep Maria Minguet, Instituto Monsa de Ediciones, Barcelona, 2012, p. 24. Dimensions: 22.5 x 13.5 x 7.5 cm. Created in 2012, this piece is part of the charitable project SWAB Toy’z by FLS, presented during the Swab Barcelona contemporary art fair in collaboration with the Fundació Lluita contra la Sida. The initiative brought together one hundred artists and designers who individually reimagined Toy2R’s Qee Bear figures, transforming them into unique creations within the art toy movement. Alejandro Botubol offers a reinterpretation of the character through a silver coating with an irregular, reflective surface, which blurs its original features and gives it an almost sculptural appearance. The texture, reminiscent of aluminum foil used to wrap food, creates an ironic play on the title *Bear Sandwich*, transforming a consumer object into a reflection on the material and visual transformation of everyday forms. The work is reproduced in the book dedicated to the project, published by Monsa in 2012. Alejandro Botubol is a Spanish artist who earned a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Seville, where he also completed a master’s degree in Contemporary Art, Idea, and Production. His work explores the relationships between space, light, matter, and perception through a practice centered primarily on painting. In 2013, he participated in artist residencies in New York, including one at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP). He has exhibited at the Alcobendas Art Center and in various national and international galleries. Among her awards are the BMW Painting Prize Medal (2019) and the Gold Medal from the Valdepeñas International Visual Arts Competition (2021).