Today we talk with Pablo, Venezuelan sculptor, he tells us part of his artistic experience and his other virtues within art such as illustration, graphics and graffiti.
Astrid Where does your desire to make art come from?
Pablo: I consider that the desire to start doing something is always subject to the desire to discover, although many processes are almost always very similar also bring experience and experiments, however the creative process I try to take it relating to playing, knowing many techniques is like having more game tools for doing, sculpture being a very broad means to make a work a recreational process, And at the same time the work loses the delimited sense of the object purely in itself to become an experience in which I immerse myself, that from within one is releasing their needs to say something, to manifest their position before the world, the themes come out alone when you know the most viable means to express yourself.
The desire to make art is also born of the mood and emotional disposition, because art has that characteristic of revealing those emotions that condition the process and the result, whether it is a simple drawing or a more complex piece.
Astrid: Which techniques do you use the most and which do you enjoy the most?
Pablo: First of all sculpture is the one that I am most passionate about, it is the discipline in which with any material you can translate it and decontextualize it, create the object with its own life, a sculpture speaks for itself through its materials, although drawing and painting also have their ways of manifesting themselves, I consider that sculpture is almost inexhaustible in its ways of expression, As much as reality itself, but the logistics of making a three-dimensional piece is more complicated, drawing is logistically simpler, although no less complex.
So, to answer your question, in terms of sculpture the techniques that I use the most are: resin casting, cement casting, ceramics, welding, I also like to assemble various techniques together, I think materials have many things to say. On the other hand, both drawing and graphic arts are a world in which I have enjoyed a lot and it has allowed me to discover methods of expression, a way to always be active and willing to immerse myself in myself, although drawing I have been since an early age after having discovered sculpture drawing is deeper than before. Graffiti is also a place that I have inhabited since I was a child, it has always been there and at the moment I see it as an oasis in which I do not worry about the complex world of art and its meanings without ceasing to create.
Astrid: What is your goal or message when it comes to painting, drawing, sculpting?
Pablo: I believe that art has a primary objective, that it is about being sincere in the moment of creation, and that the artist through that objective can annex different messages. For my part, the messages I would like to convey are reflective, that the work is a mirror, a space of reflection for each viewer, that everyone sees the work as that person is, I have had several issues in question, which I have not intended to be a unilateral and direct message but reflective and organic, in recent years I have worked on the issue of the relationship of the human with the architectural space he inhabits, of how we live in square boxes and how modern thought relates to this way of living.
Astrid: Have you participated in national events? What places?
Pablo: Yes, I have participated in several exhibitions, mostly in collective exhibitions, I have only had the opportunity of a single individual exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Caracas, I have been at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Caracas, on several occasions I have participated in events at the National Experimental University of the Arts, in the founding of the Industrial Bank of Venezuela, with the Goethe-Caracas Institute at the BOD, on several occasions I have exhibited at the Rómulo Gallegos CELARG Center for Latin American Studies, I participated in a muralism event called Meeting of styles in Maracay, among other events.
Astrid: How many exhibitions have you done?
Pablo: About 15 group exhibitions and one solo exhibition.
Astrid: Do you have any characters that inspire you to paint or are you influential?
Pablo: More than a specific character there are several styles that have marked me in different ways: graffiti and all its aesthetics have been part of the construction of my plastic language, although not necessarily when painting graffiti as such, but influences and artistic references always exist, the first ones that come to mind would be: a French artist who is nicknamed Bom-k, an Italian sculptor called Francesco Albano, a Belgian sculptor who lama Berlinde de Bruyckere, Alejandro Colina from sculpture is a great influence, among so many characters who have inspired in different ways.
Astrid: What other trades do you have outside of sculpture?
Pablo: Apart from the drawing and graphic arts that I mentioned before, I have done muralism from a very young age, painting with acrylic and oil, I am fortunate to have been born in a family of artists, in which I have done many experiences with my father painting murals in many communities throughout Venezuela, I have gone through the world of tattooing, Illustration, I occasionally write poetry and short stories, though without any major pretensions. I have done screen printing for flannels, graphic design, art restoration, life has put me to make brief experiences of masonry, mosaic murals, lettering, etc.
Astrid: Do you think your work can have a big impact on the cultural movement in your country?
Pablo: I think that doing an absolutely individual work is very uphill to generate a great impact, I believe that the creative process should be a tangle of links with other creators, a collective network in which more and more people are influenced and motivated and thus talk about culturally impacting the country, I have worked in collective spaces and interesting things have been achieved in this area. I do not believe in the artist who idealizes himself as successful from his ivory tower, from the traditional vision of those consecrated in the elite art market, I believe in growing together as peers.
Astrid: Which exhibition has been your favorite?
Pablo: I remember once that we were several colleagues in an exhibition at CELARG called Back to the Craft in its first edition, we gathered many sculptors of different generations to pay tribute to the master Guillermo Abdala, much loved who died a few years ago.
Astrid: Any message for young people who want to start in the world of painting?
Pablo: I think the simplest message is to believe in this, that you have to get rid of that wall that you put yourself, that of “I do not paint”, that with discipline little by little your style and your artistic language is generated, from there take this profession seriously like any other.
Thank you very much to Pablo for sharing part of the artistic world and hoping you have enjoyed it, I share your social networks so you can know more about your work.
Social media:Instagram:
@p.garciasanoja