Multidisciplinary Artist

How did you become an artist, what's your training and background?

I studied Visual Communications in Caracas, Venezuela. I moved to London in 2011 and studied a Textiles BA at UAL - Chelsea. 

I am not sure there is a moment in time where I started to be an artist or where I felt that I became an artist. There is however a feeling of slowly starting to be more comfortable with my own self and the way I view the world. It’s hard to say, I think the definition of what an artist is can change so much. 

I have started using the label “artist” as I think it better defines a creative person that is immersed in his/her own world and practice as a lifestyle.  It has been a hard label to acquire as I do try to avoid being categorised, but being an artist perhaps can be the best translation for the feeling I have, the values I carry, and that I aim to translate as well as the one it's better adjusted to define the nature of my work.

 

 

What are your influences - generally and specifically for this collection? Are there certain artists, subjects or movements that inspire your work in particular?

This is a really hard question to answer. I have found that on a good day anything and everything can be an influence and inspiration. Provided you are in a good and healthy mindset a lamp post on the street can be the start of a really interesting conversation and can inspire a thoughtful creation. 

If I was to answer with a specific genre or artist and creators I would say film has been deeply inspiring. Movies like Call Me by Your Name or Suspiria by director Luca Guadagnino. Music is a must to get inspired and I truly love Devendra Banhart and Sufjian Stevens and was raised by Brasilian music (my father is Brasilian) so will always find comfort in the songs of Caetano Veloso, Maria Betania and Marisa Monte.

I am deeply moved by architecture so naturally love the work of Italian architect Gio Ponti, Ricardo Bofill, Mexican Architect Luis Barragan. Recently I've been turning my eye into sculpture and have found deep pleasure going down rabbit holes finding Pierre Székely, Mexican Sculptor Pedro Reyes, Simone Bodmer-Turner, Brazilian sculptor Luiza Miller, and Barbara Hepworth - one of my all-time favourites for her work, as well as her writing and way of thinking.

From the art world, I have always come back to Egon Schiele, Sonia Delaunay, Olafur Eliasson, Natalie du Pasquier, Caroline Denervaud,  textile artist Anni Albers and his husband Joseph Albers.  It is a hard one because I find that I can keep on adding names ad infinitum.

 

 

I find that the most inspiring artists are those who carry their art into a way of living as opposed to just a practice, it is holistic and this is truly inspiring for me. 

I also and very much find incredible amounts of inspiration in my friends and the independent artists I have collaborated with. There is nothing quite like it. 

For this specific collection, I tried to channel all those influences, moments of inspiration, and the hours upon hours of research and emotions bottled up into each memory with the language and colours I have developed during the years. Trying to push the concept a bit further by incorporating the musical element with pieces created by Joseph Costi, each piece talks about a little story and narrative within the memory I am calling to “seat” at the table again with me. It was an introspective experience for me and a nostalgic one at times too. I truly hope it comes across and that it resonates with everyone else, that they can relate, share and experience this common thread and theme.

 

 

What does your process look like? Why do you choose to work in the materials that you work with?

I start each piece, collection, or project with a concept that I am passionate about or that I find can be truly interesting to explore. I am not sure I do it on purpose but normally I am always trying to change the materials and ways in which I work, which can be hard in today's world as we really enjoy the pleasure and comfort of a set style or look and the reassurance that the artist will always be creating a staple kind of work. I try to create pieces that are different and that include different processes. I also love to incorporate and work with other makers, being wood makers and such to help me realise the ideas I have in my mind. 

For this collection, I explored starting with hand-painted acrylic on canvas pieces and moving gradually to more 3D sculptural pieces. I tried to view the collection as a journey and each piece also containing its whole narrative with the unique element of having a sort of soundtrack that accompanies it by collaborating with my partner Joseph Costi to create a piece of music to go with each piece of art.

 

 

How do you hope to make the viewer feel with your work? What emotions or response do you hope to create?

I have been researching into the recent sub-discipline of neuroaesthetics with my work, which is essentially a field of experimental science that aims to combine psychological research with aesthetics by investigating how the perception, the process of making, and the response to art, as well the interactions with materials and spaces that evoke an intense feeling can have an immediate effect on how we feel and our wellbeing. 

I truly aim and hope to evoke very intimate moments of connectivity and that the pieces or murals can serve to create an atmosphere with the power to transform someone's mind-state and wellbeing. 

Much like a piece of music, there is a vibrancy and rhythm to each colour and a haptic sensation to each material or materiality, this can take us back to a memory, a moment in time or invite us to create new experiences. It's hard to describe emotions or memories with only words, one has to feel them. As long as the spectator feels something the piece is complete.

 

 

How does the three-dimensional aspect of your work also influence your painting?

There is something special about the feeling of depth. It is fascinating as it brings perspective and conjures new, different, and exciting worlds out of thin air. My fascination with architecture and interior spaces has a direct correlation with my paintings. I draw perspective, imagined structures, and architectural elements almost without me consciously knowing. It's embedded in my subconscious and I have tried to embrace, listen to it, and develop it. 

 

 

Can you tell us more about the idea behind this collection?

For this collection I wanted to make something special, I really wanted to create an experience rather than just isolated pieces of art. I felt 2020 took away elemental spaces where we used to connect with each other and this made me reflect on ways in which I could bring some of these nostalgic memories back into our consciousness. As humans, we tend to adapt to anything that is thrown at us and I recognise it is important to evolve and change in order to constantly become the better versions of ourselves.

I’ve found myself missing the spatial element of seeing and appreciating art. I also believe profoundly in the strength an experience can have, the way it creates different neurological paths in our brains and awakens us to different sensations. I tend to think that music has a magical aspect of being able to transport us into an imaginary space where feelings can be accessed within an easier reach. 

I wanted to make this collection an enriched experience rather than just a visual one. One that can really make the spectator connect with their own emotions and feelings around their nostalgic or even new memories. By linking an image to a sound I reckon there is an element of depth added that it's not just an image to be seen or a text to be read but rather an emotion to be felt together with the suggested piece of art. The collection is informative of my experience or my memories but also helps to translate the story that's being told by each piece of art. More and more in this virtual connectivity I have been craving to have real human connection, to create nurturing emotional experiences that can enrich this new reality. I hope by some extent this collection together with each piece of music can achieve some of these ambitious goals. 

 

 

There is also as the music was created in collaboration with my partner Joseph Costi we both explored our memories and feelings to create these pieces together. We really nurtured each other's processes. I found deep pleasure by, once more, blurring the lines of what being an artist really means. He made contributions towards the pieces of art and helped build the ideas around the conceptual thoughts behind each piece whilst I went to his recording studio and had notes and ideas for each musical element (I even recorded some acoustic, crazy sounds haha)

I will never be able to say this enough but collaborating with other artists and creatives truly conjures real magic into this world! 

FOLLOW ADRIANA
@adrianajarosdesign

COLLABORATORS
Photography and Styling - Aloha Bonser Shaw
Makers - Tom Collison and Oliver Morrison
Music - Joseph Costi
Framing - We Are Facility

Shop Adriana's debut collection - Encompassing Memories