We are two weeks away from our first major solo exhibition with Cinta Vidal, “Viewpoints.” In her latest body of work Vidal continues to explore the idea of viewing the world from different perspectives and how to translate that vision. It has been two years since her last exhibition with us, Gravities, at the Culver City gallery and we are excited to share our interview with Cinta Vidal that explores her growth as an artist, how she challenged herself with this new body of work, and her time travel destination.
SH: How do you approach developing a new body of work?
CV: The exhibit in Thinkspace gallery’s main room is my biggest challenge to date. I’ve never exhibited in such a big space, it is a big opportunity for me to present a large collection of my new work. My focus now is to explore deeper into the concept of sharing the same world but seeing it from different points of view.
SH: Were there specific themes or techniques you wanted to explore in “Viewpoints”?
CV: In this show, I wanted to explore to the maximum of all the possibilities that the gravity style can give me. Also, I wanted to develop more of the different ideas that I have evolved over the last two years. Like round detailed worlds, stairs compositions or floating furniture. I also changed the painting technique in the majority of the pieces. I use to paint in acrylic, now I paint in oils.
SH: Your pieces always have multiple interesting scenes and focal points, do you develop those scenes before starting and composing the complete piece or do they evolve and come to you as you’re working on one section.
CV: I’m a crazy perfectionist and I usually work in a very detailed sketch before painting the final piece. Sometimes I decide to add elements in the scenes while I’m painting them, like trees or cats. But much of the composition is always decide previously. Maybe I should start improvising more in order to give a more fresh touch to the pieces.
SH: Are the locations in your work inspired by real places?
CV: Sometimes yes. In ‘Viewpoints’ I present 5 pieces that are inspired by real places. 3 of them come from recent trips: Tai-O (Hong Kong), La Gomera (Canarias) and Nijo (Japan). These pieces are really special to me because they are like a summary of my experiences in those places. I really want to explore more of this line of work – that means that I need to travel a lot!
SH: You’ve traveled around the world for your mural work. What locations had one of your favorite meals?
CV: It’s hard to say, I’ve enjoyed a lot the meals from all the places I visited. Maybe I should say that Japan was one of the most splendid, culinarily speaking.
SH: Is there a particular piece in this exhibition you feel really challenged you? If so, why and what makes you proud of this piece?
CV: The piece CITY is very special for me. It is a mix of stairs, people, trees and architecture, something that I had never done before. The composition is very different than I usually do because the building surrounds the painting. It was a bit complicated to me to solve this piece and I’m proud because it keeps a consistency with others, but it has a different accent.
SH: What excites you about your work / creative process?
CV: The most exciting part is that everything around me could be a big inspiration. I’m always looking for new buildings, textures, trees, etc. My phone is full of ‘inspiration’ from my walks. Then I start to draw, it’s the part I enjoy the most.
SH: What frustrates you about your work / creative process?
CV: The big amount of details. I love to lose myself painting for hours, it’s like a meditation. But sometimes it is a bit frustrating when I look at the piece from afar and I’m not convinced by the overall result. It’s part of the process. Until I’m no longer uncertain about the results, I do not end it. It’s an internal fight.
SH: After a show what do you do? Do you take a long break, vacation, a particular ritual? Tell us.
CV: After a show, I try to relax and not to start new projects. But that’s easy to say.
I clean the study thoroughly in order to make space for the new projects and sometimes I go travel to totally disconnect.
SH: Who is an artist; musician, director, any art form – who would be a dream collaboration for you and what would you create?
CV: I love theatre, and contemporary dance. The choreographer Pina Baush is a big inspiration to me. Sadly she passed away. But one day I would love to be involved in a project with contemporary dance.
SH: Has there been someone or some event that has made a significant impact on you that lead you to where you are now? An artistic catalyst of sorts?
CV: The most important catalyst for me was working as an apprentice in Taller de Escenografia Castells Planas in St. Agnès de Malanyanes. I learned from Josep and Jordi Castells to love scenography and the backdrop trade. There I learnt how to paint and to be rigorous with work
SH: You have a time machine, and you could do anything / go anywhere for 24 hours, and would not interfere with the space-time continuum. What would you do?
CV: I will go to do plein air with fauvism painters, to spend a day with Paul Cézanne, André Derain and Henri Matisse. That would be a dream come true.
Join us Saturday, September 15th from 6 – 9 pm for the opening reception of “Viewpoints”
