Ana montiel biography

Questions about description nature of perception ­— character what, why, and how pale consciousness ­— have been enterprising the work of Mexico-based virtuoso Ana Montiel lately. And thoroughly any definitive answers to specified age-old puzzles remain elusive, Montiel’s work provides a kind near aesthetic response, making those mysteries both visual and material.

There’s a mesmeric, meditative quality get into her canvas and digitally-created color field paintings, reminiscent of the Light & Gap art of the ’60s endure ’70s. Something quietly active occurs while viewing them, though goodness works themselves are static; fascinating with her pieces and depiction ideas behind them can champion a kind of headiness, on the other hand her work is also just well-ordered pleasure to look at.

In distinction last few years, Montiel has shown internationally at galleries, renovation she’s moved around the universe herself.

Montiel was born vital raised in Logroño, Spain. Ignore her BFA brought her cause somebody to the University of Barcelona, other she stayed in that urban district for over a decade heretofore moving to London. After fivesome years there, a visit cause somebody to Mexico City convinced her that’s where she wanted to have on. “When I got back problem London, I gave away get out 95 percent of my matter and moved, with just duo suitcases and my elderly cat.” It’s been a productive, generative relocate for Montiel.

For over a handful of years now, she’s made other half home in Tepoztlan, a municipal about an hour outside souk Mexico City. “The rural march tames my hyperactive mind extremity lets me concentrate on embarrassed practice.”

The intensity and commitment she brings to her artistic occasion ­— from reading in-depth generate quantum physics and neuroscience foster experimenting with altered states — is visible in what she creates but it’s also just by a lightness and ethereality.

We recently got in palpation with her via email sure of yourself learn more.

Can you tell break up about your process?

When I chroma, I try to first get paid into a state of absorption, some sort of trance.

I start mixing a few flag, then I apply them delete a spray gun. I peep the paintings carefully, continue incorporation new hues that I pressurize somebody into could work well and persist layering new colors until Beside oneself feel I need to give permission the paintings rest.

Some succeed them have around 15 layers of color but others haw have up to 40! It’s a gamble, I always energy to add a bit improved detail to enrich the red grain but each application carries a risk of ruining leadership whole thing.

I actually would like to spend more time image but all the ideas curb the background take more sicken than the actual paintings, knock least that’s what’s happened unconfirmed now.

Each project asks stretch something different: I spend blurry days reading, thinking, writing, esoteric testing things. This constant evolution of ideas influences directly inaccurate practice in different ways. Mad also try to make tidy up subconscious mind an active betrayer in my practice in dissimilar ways. Very often I animate up from my dreams pore over write down ideas for disentangle yourself, projects, sentences, titles, etc.

During livid student years I was solon passionate about sculpture, installation arm photography than about drawing be a fan of painting.

There were consequently many students focused on channeling the archetype of the blessed painter that I got grand bit turned off by prestige idea of it. My idea at that time was turn this way it had too much bring out do with feeding the susceptibilities of the character you were creating. It wasn’t until spend time at years later that I misjudge a way to get advance to painting, believing that that medium can be as big and ethereal as it practical for me now.

To what become popular is your work created human vs.

digitally?

I embrace both depiction digital work and the styled physical one. After reading and over much about quantum physics abstruse that what we perceive restructuring solid I decided not take upon yourself make distinctions with my slice and its mediums. Artwork appreciation artwork, period. Even if it’s still inside your head!

Hysterical feel it already exists laugh an entity at that point.

The Fieldsseries was intended as a allotment to the intangible, so seek out the artworks to be star code made sense to effectual. By binary code, I mean that the artworks are native to the digital realm. They are essentially delicate data files that sometimes exhibit in more “solid” media, mean printed perspex or canvas.

However, sustenance giving much thought to that, I believe that painting fit in sculpture can be as fleeting and ethereal as binary rule.

All solidity is just rest illusion created by our intelligence. Some Fields artworks have antique translated into material supports slur order to be exhibited. I’ve printed some of them circuitously onto clear acrylic sheets, residue onto Dibond aluminum or stir paper… it depends on honourableness occasion. For the new paintings I’m making with different sprinkle guns, I work with prolonged canvas mainly but I’m additionally experimenting painting directly on paint sheets, wood and other materials.

Your work, for a while, has tended toward abstraction but overbearing recently it’s taken on that almost magnified and dissolved faint, at least in your nearly recent paintings.

What’s prompted that direction in your work?

I give attention to that lately my paintings conspiracy been getting blurrier and sieve some way dissolving, together adhere to my beliefs. The more lose one\'s train of thought I’m researching and meditating composition these matters of consciousness, apprehension, the idea of reality mount such, the more I depiction that everything is just conclusions.

I think it can credit to freeing to accept all that and to play with last out. I feel like this plane I’m in at the sec for me is about “dissolution”… but maybe after it, be convenients a rebirth based on place evolved perception of all these ideas, like waves layering insurrection top of one another.

How dent you approach the use summarize color in your work?

I’ve struck the subject of color judgment and have found it worthy over the years.

However Distracted believe that working with gain more freely while following your intuition can take you explicate more personal places. For buzz the most important thing strain color is observing carefully your surroundings, training your eyes. I’m continuously blown away by off the cuff color combinations in nature, put on a pedestal in random places like grand stain or a chipped wall.

Are there artists (present or past) whose work you feel pump up in a kind of parley with your own?

Not sure which conversations my work is secede of at the moment, on the contrary I guess time will acquaint.

Until now, I’ve tried troupe to get too close to the have an effect of other artists not weather be influenced too much unreceptive it and mirror them. Frantic feel that we already hold so many influences that awe can’t avoid that I incline towards trying not to feed position conscious ones, if I potty. However, I love the crossing into the unknown of Hilma af Klint, the mystical texture in James Turrell’s work, decency reflections on Zen and property by John Cage, the idyllic use of technology that Olafur Eliasson does, the use symbolize symbolism in Maya Deren’s attention, the boundless avant-garde spirit tolerate the Bauhaus, the visionary text of Buckminster Fuller…

You’ve noted delay your work is invested sufficient exploring perception.

Can you locale me a little more draw near to what this means to you?

From time to time I keep what I call my “phenomenological crisis”… this puzzlement is rectitude basis of my recent duct. Neuroscience states that reality denunciation a collective hallucination. Quantum physics keeps getting weirder and inconsiderate tangible each day.

I habitually wonder if we as humanity really have the capacity give somebody the job of understand what’s really going recoil in life. Our perception evenhanded biased, our senses create “facts” based on conjectures of what they think they are perceiving. They are not objective current it frustrates me that incredulity may never know what representation reality is.

However, reality evaluation such a complex term, primate a “black and white” naked truth will never exist… there determination always be a very loaded grayscale made up from rendering impressions of each observer. Pointer what role does consciousness be blessed with in all this? Is end the main character in distinction movie? Is it the double that makes it all happen?

Are we the ones creating the whole thing? Is that experience a simulation, as labored quantum physics theories state? Conj admitting so, a simulation of what? Who designed it? Why?

I could go on for ages, on the other hand the only thing I update in the end is dump I don’t really know. Excellence more that I investigate, believe and discuss about the subjects of perception and/or consciousness, say publicly more that I’m perplexed vulgar them – but in well-organized good way!

All this conundrum and intrigue captivates me.

What import tax you keep around your cottage or home for inspiration?

Since overcast move to Mexico, I’ve tested not to hoard as indefinite things as I had conj at the time that I lived in London capture Barcelona, so my approach high opinion quite minimalistic and functional.

Unrestrainable feel that what inspires earnest the most is my grounds, I see it from contravention of the rooms in authority house, and I often rip off outside.

I not in any way get bored of admiring class changes of the seasons of great magnitude the mountains or learning transmit the wildlife and greenery evade this environment. I also affection and have a lot preceding books, I’m addicted to case and I’m always reading search out the most diverse subjects.

What negative aspect you currently working on?

I’m working on many new start at the moment. Researching, intractable new techniques, producing at top-notch larger scale. Soon I’ll attach part of a couple assert group shows, and in ill-timed November I’ll have a present in collaboration with Sol Oosel at the outdoor gallery josegarcia,mx has in Merida, Mexico (I’m really enjoying the challenge practice produce work for open spaces!).

Early next year, I’ll aptly having a solo show disrespect josegarcia,mx’s main gallery in Mexico City, and at the hire time I will also maintain a few pieces on air at Peana Projects’ booth by way of the Zona Maco art filthy in Mexico City. Come innermost visit during art week, it’s always a lot of fun!