Reflection, ID #13673

Happy post-Thanksgiving to our US readers!  Last month, we caught up with Alejandra Corral, a Spanish-born, US-raised artist working in Madrid.  Read her brief interview below.

I create art because art is the means of expression with which I feel more comfortable. It is probably the only one that enables me to be fully see-through.

I feel most creative when my life is stable. Like Paul Klee, I need emotional stability to be able to create with full potential. But I also need action going on, projects, challenges and deadlines. So it is when all this elements come together that my creative Big Bang takes place.

Café, ID #12681

I listen to the radio while working, mainly news, talk shows and tertulias. 

The thing I am most looking forward to is to be able to move people’s consciousness through my art.

My favorite quote is: every cloud has a silver lining.

I will not make art just for money.

Sweet, ID #13787

My proudest accomplishment is to have had the courage to take decisions I thought where correct, but that went against what I had been taught or against what was expected from me.

A perfect day is a bright and artistically productive day. Or a cold sunny winter day having had a wonderful long horse back ride in the mountains.

My biggest indulgence is a good glass of red wine after a long day of work at my studio.

My fondest childhood memory is the smell of pretzels in Manhattan streets and the sound of Coquis (autochthonous frogs from Puerto Rico) at dusk.

Time Container – Turtle, ID #13598

Lu was born in Dalian, China, and is currently a professor at Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts.  Working in sculpture, painting, photography, and installation, the artist analyzes the dichotomy of “real” and “fake,” and the manner in which such an assessment shapes the viewer’s appreciation of an object. Lu also examines the relationship between sensory perception of an object and cognitive understanding of its meaning.

Time Container – Bone, ID #13597

Using playful techniques to create optical illusions within his pieces, Lu presents a clever twist on the concepts of real and fake, one that may require viewers to take a second look at the work before them. In one piece, the artist renders arrangements of fake flowers with meticulous detail. Through his visible effort to recreate exact copies of these bouquets, Lu turns an otherwise ordinary object into an extraordinary one, giving it increased value simply through his manner of representation.

Time Container – Fish, ID #13594

Despite his mischievous manipulation of viewer perception, the message of Lu’s work is optimistic; the artist demonstrates for the viewer new methods to understand and appreciate an object. Here, “fake” is not viewed in a pejorative light, as the skill and ingenuity required to render a “fake” object bestow it with a significance all its own.

Gone!, ID #12000

Mark Ulriksen is an artist and illustrator based in San Francisco.  He has over 30 covers to his name from the New Yorker.  We caught up with Mark and asked him a mini-Q & A about his work and love of sports.

I create art because I feel I was born to do this.

I feel most creative when I’ve have a cup of coffee in my system, a blank piece of paper on my drafting table and an idea or two in my head.

All All-Stars, ID #10969

I listen to the SF Giants, NPR, and music while working.

The thing I am most looking forward to is earning enough money so that I can expand my 150 square foot studio.

My favorite quote is “David (Remnick, New Yorker editor) wants to run your cover”.

I will not make art when I’m dead and gone, as far as I know.

Lost Dog, ID #12094

My proudest accomplishment is the family life my wife, kids, and I have created.

A perfect day is sunny, with family, friends, food, drink and conversation.

My biggest indulgence is dark chocolate or salami.

My fondest childhood memory is playing kickball in the street with the neighborhood kids.

Bodegón con personajes, ID #10309

Monique de Roux is a French-born, Spanish-based artist, working across many mediums like drawing, etching, and mixed media.  Monique recently answered a handful of AB’s questions about her practice; here they are below!

I create art because I need it.

I feel most creative when I feel peaceful.
I listen to silence while working.

Los novios, ID #10822

The thing I am most looking forward to is to see in front of me what I had in mind and in heart.

My favorite quote is “Car l’amour est fort comme la mort.”

I will not make art in a hurry.

My proudest accomplishment is to be able to accept.

La fuite, ID #14049

A perfect day is to think there are no perfect days.

My biggest indulgence is for children.

My fondest childhood memory is La Mediteranèe.

Untitled, ID #13084

Based in Israel, Judith Raviv works primarily in acrylics, depicting dreamlike representations of birds and wildlife.  We caught up with Judith and asked her a few questions about her work and everyday life.

I create art because, for me it is a way to talk about matters that can’t be expressed by other ways of talking.  There are matters that can’t be vocally expressed.

I feel most creative when I decide that I’m working, and usually it is every morning.

Untitled, ID #10241

I listen to radio programs or music (classic, jazz or music from local artists) while working.

The thing I am most looking forward to are my coming projects.

My favorite quote is from SZYMBORSKA’S “Vermeer”:

So long as that woman from the Rijksmuseum
in painted quiet and concentration
keeps pouring milk day after day
from the pitcher to the bowl
the World hasn’t earned
the world’s end.

Untitled, ID #12172

I will not make art when – There is no possible situation that I’ll not do art as long as I live.

My proudest accomplishment is my family and my achievements in my career.

A perfect day is – Every day can be a perfect day when I think positively.

My biggest indulgence is buying shoes.

My fondest childhood memory is my mom teaching me painting as a three year old, and my first time going alone to the cinema.