ARTIST ADRIANA MUÑOZ
The Self Taught artist currently resides in Madrid, Spain, and recently exhibited her “Japan” inspired art works at Cinco Tejas, a space dedicated to experimentation of art and architecture.
I paint and teach painting to children at the “Espositivo Academy” in Madrid, and I combine it with another job as a member of an art department, working in different projects for films and publishing companies. I was never aware of how powerful desire and daring to dream are. I started painting only a few years ago and a while after, I quit my job and started a new career. I studied business administration and management and worked in marketing but I wasn't fulfilled at all. I felt it was not my path but I didn’t feel brave enough to ask myself what I wanted. So I had to work hard on myself accepting what I really wanted to do and when I gave it a try, things became naturally easy and possible for me.
Your greatest inspirations or influences?
Lucian freud and Jenny Saville.
Contemporary painters such as Katerine Bradford, Anne-Sophie Tschiegg, Lou Ros, Anthon Cudahy, Pablo Merchanted, Fabian Treiber, George Rouy and many others.
I never studied art, but am self-taught, and was influenced by artists’ friends like Javito Ruiz Perez, An Wei, Dani Pernas, Tuchi and specially Desi Civera.
Tell us a bit about your creative process? things you are looking forward to this year..
I consider myself quite chaotic in my creative process. I take lots of different pictures on my phone that inspire me, but I also work with pictures from Google, like in my last exhibition, ja- no-me. I couldn´t travel to Japan to take my own photos due to the pandemic situation so I had to search on Google what I wanted.
I can never concentrate on one single painting. I have to do several at the same time and take each one by impulse and motivation. Likewise I don’t always start in exactly the same way. I feel I´m always improvising and I like to feel this freedom.
Inspiration comes to me from everywhere, the real and the digital world. Everything I see becomes a source of inspiration. Sometimes I see myself drifting away from reality and paying only half attention to conversations happening in front of me, because I get distracted by colours, forms and new ideas for future paintings.
How has this year changed your creativity or how you see the world changing moving forward?
This pandemic made us all stop. We spent more time than ever with ourselves and realised what is important and what is not. In my case I experienced the joy of painting every single day, the quietness of being with myself. I realized I could find inspiration in every corner and everything I saw. I painted my feet, my house, my flatmates… and I asked all my friends to send me ID photos to paint them. I covered one of my walls with all these portraits.
The world is changing increasingly fast and I see technological advances among others, as an opportunity to show your work to the world and give more opportunities to everyone. I think how we use technology is gonna be key in our future society.
Who do you consider to be an icon of our time?
There are plenty of people I admire, but I do not have any icons. That’s something that reminds me of your teens, when you haven’t built your personality. I wish icons were people who fight for our planet and human rights.
Do you think the art world needs to change, and if so how can it be improved.
I wish government supported the arts more and gave more opportunities and support to these careers.
What does wellbeing mean to you.?
Wellbeing means to get to know yourself as much a possible and acceptance. Follow your instinct and be truly honest to yourself.
