Interview by Jimon

1-You were born in Cuba, when did you move to Europe and why? I was born in Cuba but I lived in the Dominican Republic for a long time. When I finished high school in 2013, I didn’t know what to do with my life and I decided to come to Europe to visit some relatives. My initial intentions were to study business administration in Holland and learn some languages. I started the Dutch school and found a job in a restaurant. After a little while I found myself going to school to become a chef, speaking Flemish, and settling down in Bruges.

2-How long have you been making art?  I have been making art for as long as I can remember. I always had a pencil or a marker to paint whatever came into my mind. It was my hobby. Professionally, I’ve been doing it since 2017.

3-Why make art?  2017 was a year of transition in my life. I was working full time as a chef in a new restaurant and after a long work day, I was coming back home to paint. I also decided to open an account on Instagram and started posting what I was doing as art. After all, what’s the point of making art if you are not sharing it. To my surprise and delight, people liked it. My daily routine was not making me happy and art somehow was going from been a hobby to becoming a passion. So here came the huge decision: I quit my job and decided give art a chance and it worked. The rest is in front of you.

4-What inspires you the most?  I take great inspiration from daily events. I am always interested on what’s going on around me and in the world. I react to it and share my point of view through my art. It’s my legacy.

5-How would you describe CB Hoyo?  I do what I want and I say what I think. I like to express myself freely even if sometimes people might get offended by my messages. At least, they now how I think.

6-You copy famous work and write “Fake” with bog bold letters on the painting, what is the origin of this?  Actually, it was by accident that I started with the fakes. While recreating a Warhol, something went wrong with the painting. In those days I had read an article over forgeries in the art world. I decided to combine what I read with what I thought about the topic. I took my fake, wrote over it, and without shame, let the world know that my painting was a real fake.

7-How did your acquire your style?  My sloppy handwriting has been with me forever. It doesn’t matter how many hours of painful calligraphy I took, sometimes, you cannot tame a wild hieroglyphical writing. Teachers even made fun of it and predicted that I was not going anywhere with it because nobody will take me seriously. Now, I write my thoughts about this fake world we live in with my messy handwriting. It has become part of my style.

8-Does politics affect your work?  I get inspiration from whatever is going on in the world nowadays. Somehow politics affect my work because they are part of our daily life scenarios. Without taking sides, I express what I think and I let my audiences interact with and react to my messages.

9-Do you listen to music while creating? If yes what genre?  Yes, I do, at all times. I have a wide repertoire. In my studio you can listen to any known genre: latin, classical, dance, opera, you name it. In a day I could listen to a Berlin underground techno or to The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. It all depends on my daily mood.

10-If you could give art dealers one advice what would it be?  I would suggest them to be more transparent and pay their artists on time.

11-First thing you think/do in the morning and last thing at night?  In the morning, I wake up, look up to the ceiling, read the news, go to the toilet, and take a shit.  At night, I take a shit, take a shower, read the news, look up to the ceiling, and fall asleep.

12-What is your definition of success? Do what you want, whenever you want, with whoever you want, and above all, be happy with what you do.

13-If you could have dinner with 3 artists living/dead who would be at your table?  As long as there is good food and excellent wine, I really don’t care who’s there to share it with me. However, it would be interesting to share it with Dali, Picasso, and someone else who gets along with them.

14-Name three things you can’t live without in your studio?  My computer, music and a sofa.

15-How would someone find you on social media?  Instagram @cbhoyo

16-Anything else you’d like to mention that I didn’t ask?  A few words for the young emerging talents like me:  No matter what, be true to yourselves. At the end of the road, art is subjective. There will be people who love you and others that won’t but that is their problem, not yours.  Don’t take things for granted. Do your best to get what you want. Sometimes things can happen fast but sometimes they take longer. Do not be desperate, keep on dreaming, and fighting for it.  Don’t let money become your number one priority. Don’t waste your time thinking about it. It will come if it has to come.