Amalia Valdes
Could you tell us a little about the inspiration that started your work, and how it has evolved?
The inspiration that gives rise to my work is a basic need to do things for the sake of doing them, as a form of self-healing, therapy, vital exercise or the primordial need to use my body and my hands through a visual language. It has evolved through geometric shapes that have changed and modified forms, lines and possibilities of action. Geometry has taken me down different paths, such as the connection with ancestral cultures and symbols or icons found in them.
How has your artistic career developed outside of Chile? What influences has Berlin had on your work?
Berlin has greatly enhanced this return to the old and to my roots as a Latin American artist, bringing me even closer to studying ancestral symbols present in our culture such as the chakana and the guñelve. At the same time, being an incredible city, it has made me reconnect with nature and appreciate the development of its growth and its symbols. Berlin is a tremendous city and at the same time a great countryside.
Describe your work in three words/concepts...
Harmony, refinement, balance.
Could you describe the process and inspiration that resulted in these new textile works?
Carpets and old looms are the starting point for these works. Textile art has always fascinated me. The process has to do with the precision that is also carried out in the manufacture of a loom and at the same time that somewhat meditative process of weaving, embroidering, making the same line for a long time, painting, etc. For me, art is like meditating. In these works, I am especially interested in approaching craftsmanship and textile art, because it has also been a technique carried out by women for many generations. I am also interested in being able to paint with a medium other than paint, as in this case, with paper, surprising and creating works that seem to have no execution and that are made as if by magic.
What inspires you at the moment?
In nature, my daughter and stories.
Do you have any contemporary or historical artists who influence your work?
I am always looking and letting myself be influenced by beauty as such, whether it is an object, a person, a conversation, a book. What inspires me is not necessarily always an artist, rather I try to flow with the times and what I am experiencing.
What makes you most proud as an artist?
Being able to do and accomplish what I like most every day.
