Interview by Jimon

1-Where do you currently live and create?  I currently live in Barcelona, Spain. I have a studio Thirty minutes outside the city in Sant Cugat, in the Vallès Occidental, which is where I grew up and where I had my first artistic experiences.

2-What is your earliest childhood memory of making art?  My first memory is in kindergarten and then with the painter and teacher Teresa Farrés, to whom my parents took me for classes. Also, school trips to the countryside, where I noticed light, shapes, colors and the perfumes of the Vallès Occidental. At that time in the early 60’s, it was still full of vineyards, flowering almond trees and pine forests. My first drawings, compositions and canvases were created outdoors. The still life and interpretations of the Catalan masters were encouraged by my father, who loved art.

3-What did your path to becoming an artist look like?
My career has been a bit anarchic despite my interest in the visual arts from an early age. Coming from a business family, I spent a few years studying Law, which of course was not my vocation. Then I started to get into art, first with ceramics, then three-dimensional shapes, sculptural shapes, drawing and painting, until I came into contact with gallery owners, particularly a German art dealer with whom I began my full dedication to art.

4-Did you study art or is it inherent?  I think an artist is born an artist. We have a kind of secret dream that haunts us from a young age. And we have skills that are essential if you’re going to dedicate your life to art. In my case, the two teachers who left a lasting mark on me were Francesc Casademont and Nolasc Valls, with whom I learned a great deal.

5-How would you describe Sergi Barnils?  An introverted, sensitive person, aware of the wonders of nature. As a child I was, distant from the habits of other children. In adulthood, surrounded by existential gaps, many questions as to the meaning of life, resolved with being close to the creator – God. Then his life and painting changed radically.

6-What is the inspiration behind your creations?  Nature, always. The landscapes of inland Catalonia. Music, especially Bach. In recent decades, my painting has been inspired by the Bible, especially Genesis and the Book of Revelation.

7-What emotion do you expect to be on people’s faces when they look at your art?  I want to be able to express sincere, deep, authentic feelings and therefore involve those who observe the work in this spiritual communication.

8-Do you have motto on how to live life?  Really live a sincere life. And pass on that sincerity to others. Never stop being one self and let our passage through the Earth leave light and not darkness.

9- What influences you as an artist?  I enjoy visiting museums and art galleries, like the bee that goes to the flower and takes its nectar to make honey in the hive. I like to influence myself with colors and shapes, taking inspiration especially from those artists that I notice working in the purest freedom, without pretending to be liked or not. Freedom is the greatest gift we humans have, and seeing it transferred to classic and contemporary paintings greatly influences me. I don’t seek to imitate, but to get back this concept of work with full freedom, which is not always so easy, as there are always conditions.

10-Do you have a place/person/thing that you visit for inspiration?  I work inside, in a studio that is not located in the middle of nature. But whenever I can I like to watch the sunsets somewhere nearby: I’m lucky enough to cross the Collserola mountain range a couple of times every day by train. Looking up to the Third Heaven, where I consider the Creator to be, is one of the greatest sources of inspiration for me.

11-When you are not painting where would someone find you?  If I’m not painting, I can be found walking with my wife, Isabel, or sitting at a table surrounded by books. Books on art, religion, natural sciences, philosophy and so on.

12-If a movie was to be made about your life, where would it ideally take place and who would be the actor playing your part?  I would like a movie to alternate between my studio and in nature. Especially those places that are destined to disappear in our region and where you can still hear the birdsong, see the blue skies and the green of the plants and trees. A suitable actor might be Josep Maria Pou, an extraordinary Catalan actor.

13-How do you describe success as an artist?  I know very well that accumulating a disproportionate amount of money from my work would not mean success for me: because it would mean a loss of freedom, I am sure. To succeed would be to gain more and more freedom and for that to be reflected in the work -I would like the people looking at my paintings to feel that freedom. Without communication, art is useless, the spectator plays a critical part in this relationship which is more spiritual than aesthetic.

14-Name three things you can’t live without in your studio?  Natural light, essential to me because the work could never be the same without it (the difference between light and darkness is a very recurring biblical theme); the means to articulate the work and books.

15-If you could have dinner with 3 artists living/dead who would be at your table?  Of the historic artists, I would choose many, but perhaps with artists a little closer to my era, the conversation would be more understandable: Cézanne, Miró and Morandi.

16-How would someone find you on Social media?
Instagram @sergibarnilsbasomba

17-Please name the first thing that comes to your mind while reading the following:
Art= Oxygen
Food= A means
Sports= Rivalry
Politics= More rivalry
Poor= Imparity
God= Exultation
Rich= Generally unsatisfied
Luxury= Completely unnecessary
Sex= Giving oneself
Picasso= Volatile
Religion= Experiential relationship