Interview by Jimon

1- Where do you currently reside and work?  I’m currently based in Italy.

2- How long have you been making art and what lead you to start?  My relationship with art started at a very young age: when I was a child I liked to draw and paint on any surface, I used to draw on people’s faces in Sunday magazines and make some costume designs. I became aware of art as a discipline at the age of 15, when I began to do some works on canvas and to better organize my ideas. At that time I was very motivated by books of renowned artists that were bought in my house every week: it was a collection of 20 books sold by a newspaper on a weekly basis and every week there was a new artist that I met through those books. That led me to spend a lot of time doing pencil portraits and paintings to understand the basic principles of art.

3- Did you study art or is it inherent?  Art for me has been inherent, but I have studied architecture and I think that has helped me to generate art with an analytical, critical and constructive vision, everything else has arisen from my own experience.

4- How would you describe Ángel Hernández?  Introspective, nostalgic, resilient, curious and creative.

5- You mainly draw females. What is the inspiration behind this series?  My intention when drawing females with nostalgic expressions, in situations of fragmentation or lonely contexts is to transgress some prevailing normative constraints related to the beauty, grace and happiness with the intention of generating a criticism from the imperfection in art to deconstruct the female stereotypes present in the social imaginary. Femininity has long been objectified in the media through a happy, seductive and perfect semblance, but I want to show the beauty on the opposite side of that.

6- What is the medium you utilize the most?  Watercolor and collage on paper.

7- Do you imagine any narrative continuity for the characters in your paintings?  Yes, all the characters in my artworks are in a dimension of questioning, trying to represent human and abstract concepts with their expressions, scales and colors, they are all doubting their own existence, they are looking for answers, they are trapped in something that could be the eternity.

8- Have you ever asked a buyer, why my art? What is it about your work that interests them?  I’ve thought about it but I haven’t asked about it directly. Before selling my first artworks, I thought that nostalgic expressions would not appeal to someone, but apparently there are many people who connect with that feeling and are interested in my art today.

9- How do you define success?  Feeling good about something, even when no one is applauding you for it.

10- What kind of art hangs on the walls of your home?  The walls of my house are mainly empty because objects distract me. I only have some of my recent artworks in a portion of my work area to look at some moments.

11- What’s the best advice you’ve gotten from an artist, about being an artist?  Make the art you want to make, not the art others expect you make.

12- What influences you as an artist?  My biggest influences come from details I see every day -on people, buildings, landscape- and the music I listen to. I also feel inspired by themes as the space, the time and the human condition.

13- How would you like to be seen as an artist years from now?  I would like to see my art on book covers and music albums. I think editorial work would give me new possibilities to illustrate other narratives. I would also like to exhibit in galleries and teach art.

14- If you could have dinner with three artists living/dead who would be at your table?  Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Remedios Varo.

15- Three things you can’t live without in your studio?  Light, paper and pencil.

16- Do you have a place/person/thing that you visit for inspiration?  Yes, my sketchbook where I draw and write some ideas.

17- How would someone find you on social media?  Instagram @angelhernandezart

18- Please name the first thing that comes to your mind while reading the following:

 Art = Expression

Food = Energy

Sports = Movement

Politics = Promises

Poor = Vulnerability

God = Control

Rich = Power

Luxury = Excess

Sex = Instinct

Picasso = Change

Religion = Manipulation