The Last of Its Kind by Incipio Modo

About Incipio Modo

We are Incipio Modo, a Mexican-Canadian artist collective, led by sculptors, Danira Miralda and Edward Beltran. Our professional practice, based in Calgary, Alberta, since 2010, gravitates around two areas of focus: our independent studio work, and the development of site-specific art installations for residential, institutional, and public spaces - both in the built and natural environment.

From 2007-2010, we worked from the interior of a vintage Japanese trolley that was fully adapted as a sculpture studio and permanently parked in Plaza Luis Cabrera, in the Roma neighbourhood of Mexico City. Aberracion Cromatica, as we were called, was a socially-based public art project https://incipiomodo.com/news/. We worked in the public realm, both in the interior and exterior of the trolley, amongst the art galleries, cafes, fountains, shoemakers and street vendors. We were just another element in the streetscape, and as such, we witnessed the city firsthand; pulsing with its daily activities, its familiar sounds, faces and smells. Our understanding of public space and place-making was shaped by this experience, and a desire to explore space physically and conceptually began to shape our practice. Since then, we have been responsible for the conception, fabrication and installation of site-specific artwork in private residences, corporate buildings and the public realm, in particular: Bronze Tree, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico; Azul, Condesa, Mexico City; Sartorius Project, Sartorius Laboratory, Mexico City; Calgary Archives Sculpture, Calgary; Ascension, Poetic Park Plaza, Downtown Calgary; Seed Pod, Prairie Winds Park, Calgary.

As public artists, our role is to find poetry everywhere: in industrial settings, in urban streetscapes and in the natural environment. We, the artists, provide the catalyst necessary to unite the essence of a community, its architecture, and its natural environment to create an alternate reality, tell a story or become an element of discovery and surprise.

Space, Time, and Movement, and the way these states coexist and impact one another is a topic that has influenced our work in general, and a central aspect of public artmaking. We strive to create immersive, public work that can be experienced while it seamlessly integrates the land use, the architecture, the natural environment, and the community.

Our work can be found in private and public collections in Basel, Calgary, Mexico City, Seattle, Miami, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Berlin and San Francisco. We have previously worked with bronze, steel, concrete, urethane rubbers, plastics, resins, fibreglass, stone, wood and wax, and have lately explored the use of light as an element of design, as well as projection mapping onto sculpture. We were recently awarded a grant by the Canada Council for the Arts to join forces with AZMA digital to explore how digital technology and sculpture can enter into a dialogue and augment one another while they still retain the unique attributes intrinsic to each form. https://incipiomodo.com/portfolio/artistic-collaboration/

Danira Miralda studied Fashion Technique and Design at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. She moved to Mexico soon after and entered the studio of Sculptor, Enrique Miralda as an apprentice, where she remained for four years. She then joined the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts in Mexico City, to specialize in stone and wood carving. Edward Beltran studied traditional wax sculpture in the Ex Convento de San Agustin, in Salamanca, Gto. He then moved to Mexico City to continue his edification in sculpture in Anima FX. Soon after, he was invited into the studio of Sculptor, Javier Marin, in Mexico City, where he completed a three-year residency/scholarship.

We have exhibited in public and private spaces such as Banff Centre for the Arts and  Creativity; Beakerhead, Calgary; The Art Gallery of Calgary; The Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City; David Alfaro Siqueiros Museum, Mexico City; La Tallera, Cuernavaca, Morelos; Arocena Museum, Torreón Coahuila, Mexico; El Chopo Museum, Mexico City.