For over three decades, Lara Almarcegui has developed a singular body of work at the intersection of urban transformation and material politics. Her practice examines the material, legal, and political conditions that shape the built environment, with a particular focus on peripheral and transitional spaces—vacant lots, demolition sites, quarries, and construction zones—made invisible by cycles of urban planning and real estate speculation. Grounded in long-term research and local engagement, her projects take the form of minimal yet incisive gestures, such as inventories of construction materials, halted excavations, or temporary access to disused land. By exposing the unstable foundations of the contemporary city, Almarcegui invites reflection on questions of ownership, obsolescence, and value—what cities remember, and what they choose to forget.
Her work has been the object of numerous solo exhibitions in institutions such as Museo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid (2024); Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig, Leipzig (2023); Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, Toronto (2022); Ellen de Bruijne PROJECTS, Amsterdam (2021); Centre d’Art La Panera, Lleida (2021); FRAC PACA, Marseille (2021); Ming Studios, Boise, Idaho (2021) Graphische Sammlung, Zurich (2019); IVAM, Valencia, Spain (2019); Casino Luxembourg (2016); Kunsthaus Baselland, Switzerland (2015); Gemmeente Museum Den Haag, the Netherlands (2015); CREDAC, Ivry-sur-Seine, France (2013), the Stedelijk Museum, Den Bosch (2012).