Uncertainty is a driving force. In uncertainty I find motivation. Every piece of art I do is borne of uncertainty, of where you are going. The artistic process, in its constant evolution, should take us to unknown places. So, uncertainty is a constant in art.
Building a bridge between the inner and outer world, and experiencing art holistically is Martin Daiber’s mantra
Los otros
Take us to the beginning of your story. How did your tryst with art begin?
Since I was a child I had a very artistic environment at home. My grandfather used to paint and do ceramics. He has a studio at his house, where my cousins and I used to go to paint and make clay figurines. I have really nice memories of that time. After that I continued doing paintings by myself and then I ended up at art school. There I start making objects and working with sound, but after the end of school I came back to painting and it never stopped.
Tell us about a memorable moment.
A memorable moment for me was when I got a studio for the first time. After I left my parents’ house, I went to live in a big house with a group of friends, all of them artists, and we had our “living-studios” there. This was a great experience because of the creative energy around. There were musicians, actors, writers and visual artists… so it had an inspiring ambience. In addition to the parties, we were committed to our work. It was a great period of learning. I also started to realise that the life of an artist would not be easy, especially the money making.
Pic-nic royale
What inspires you? Take us through your process and continuous frameworks of reference.
I think there is a “formalistic” or visual inspiration that comes through art history, the museums, books, materials, techniques and so on. And there is another kind of inspiration that comes through daily life, through experience of people, nature, feelings, memories, etc. A kind of holistic situation that makes you who you are and rules the way you move in life and art. My goal in art is to get in touch with this “holistic” experience, to build a bridge between my inner and outer world, and translate it into works of art. It is like dreaming. When you dream you let your subconscious speak freely. It seems that there is something external that is building the dream, but then you wake up and realise that everything was a construction of your imagination. There is a battle against ego and intuition, and the search is to find an artistic process that allows full connection with your intuition.
How do you balance art and life?
I go to the studio every day. Sometimes half a day, sometimes all day long. I have to divide my time between family, art and other kinds of work. I don’t live off art. I have to do other jobs as well.
How do you deal with the conceptual difficulty and uncertainty of creating work?
Uncertainty is a driving force. In uncertainty I find motivation. Every piece of art I do is borne of uncertainty, of where you are going. The artistic process, in its constant evolution, should take us to unknown places. So, uncertainty is a constant in art. How do I deal with it? By working.
Eclipse
What are you looking for when you look at other artists’ work? Who are your maestros?
When I look at others artists’ work I want to feel moved by it, be surprised, experience emotions with it. Like when you feel jealous because they have seen something you don’t or because their technique is better than yours… hehehe!
I remember several shows or museums that were really amazing. I liked the show by Alber Oehlen at Saatchi Gallery. Besides that an Emil Nolde retrospective at Grand Palais, a Markus Lupertz show at Leipzig Museum, the Louvre, the British Musuem, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago, Chile, Musée d’Orsay, Musée de Cluny, Picasso Museum, the Shchukin collection of modern art, Jonathan Meese, Tal R, Daniel Richter, Thomas Hauseago, Gauguin, Matisse, just to name a few, were inspiring. My visit to Machu Pichu, the Sacred Valley and the city of Cusco, was also inspiring.
What is one imperative piece of advice you would give to someone who is just starting out?
I would say, find yourself while working.
Nocturno
How does your interaction with a curator, gallery or client evolve from the initial interface to the working-involvement-relationship?
I have exhibited in several galleries, most of them independent, but never had any permanent gallery representation. In that sense I have being free to do what I want, developing my own projects, without the pressure of the art market. Anyway, this doesn’t mean that I am not open to that option. It’s just that it has never happened.
What are you working on now? What’s coming next season?
At the moment I’m working on a series of paintings and some paper works. All plans are just plans, nothing concrete. So, I prefer not to talk about it yet.