ANTONIOxEREZ

Antonio Gonzalez-Garcia

Columbus, OH

Social Media
Instagram

How would you describe your work?

I am a perpetual researcher, a questioner, a color and behavioral ponderer that translates what his reptilian grey mass captures, and transforms it into something that we can talk about with an aesthetic approach.

What inspires you?

An exacerbated amount of caffeine and a walk inside any great National Parks in the US. How can you not be extremely inspired after walking for HOURS and then, all the sudden, the majestic Boulder Creek Valley, or the Grinnell Overlook landscape is revealed in front of yours eyes? Now. Can I paint that or do I feel overwhelmed by perceiving such an incredible amount of beauty? Then, when I am back at my studio, I work on things that have "something".

The truth is behind all the beautiful colors and shapes. An example is, can we talk about how extremely controlled our social lives are going to be in the future, with AI been able to use wi-fi as a camera to detect humans (Carnegie Mellon University), or can I show it to the public from an artistic approach, and how Dustin Kuhns wil describe, [...] With dimensions of our modern media voyeur in mind, Antonio Gonzalez-Garcia invites us around tables with strangers. It’s no mistake that the mild, wide-angle lens distortions of Antonio’s composition transports smartphone users back to their phone screen[...]

And then,this SPACE to express myself and connect to other artists or collectors, being sponsored, receiving the support from people... these are the kind of social things that inspire me.

Can you speak about your process?

The beginning of my process is quite boring when working on paper, when using oils is more intrepid. All my body of work right now is on paper, and I follow an approach which has been polished for centuries. The maximum exponents of the process I follow are Antonio Lopez-Garcia and Euan Uglow. Hockney Cubic photography also has a spot in my process.

How did you become interested in art?

I remember my big sister created a great drawing when I was 7 or 8 years old. I remember feeling surprised that someone so close to me was able to create such a cool drawing. Maybe that day I started drawing, creating stories of monsters, spaceships and those kinds of things. I was enjoying it so much. The rest is history.

Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?

I admire many artists. From living artists to mega stars that still influences the work of many of us today. Lopez-Garcia and the Madrid Realists, Slade School, Jenny Saville, all the Perceptual Painters, Hilma af Klint, Zoey Frank, recently I visited a Picasso retrospective at the Pompidou, and so on. Last month I visited Spain, and a friend invited me to go to NMAC Contemporary Art Foundation where I saw this incredible land art by James Turrel. Just unbelievable.

In the field of films I am an Akira Kurosawa fan. Ghibli Studio films have a soft spot for me too, and the documentaries about the work and life in the studio are so fun to watch. Lars Von Trier and Wes Anderson are excellent. Yesterday I watch Barbie, by Greta Gerwig, and the film was an incredible perspective about how, from an anthropological view, toys for women (when they were kids) were projecting the role model they should do when becoming adults, but then, with Barbie coming to the scene, the role model for women could be whatever profession, and now the company is trying to work towards more inclusive horizons.

Books: I am actually reading What Is Contemporary Art, by Terry Smith, Theory Of Restauration, by Cesare Brandi, re-reading Concerning The Spiritual In Art, by Kandinsky, and a couple more, like Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouniard, and so on.

What advice do you have for younger artists?

Focus on art business and art marketing as much as you actually paint.

Any more thoughts about art, creativity, or anything else you would like to share?

I want to thank you for this interview, and to everyone who has supported me.