Transparencies, color, composition
Tell us a little about yourself and the reason why you decided to be an artist.
I am Camila Barreto, Colombian, I live in the countryside near Bogotá and I am a mother. I have been drawing and painting since I was 13 and I have not stopped since then, I do it because I cannot not do it. My creative process is part of the structure of my life and each stage of it brings new images that reveal my emotional, mental and material state.
Could you tell us a little about the inspiration that started your work, and how it has evolved?
What inspires my work is the need to convey a feeling in an image. How a hug feels, a broken heart, a lump in the throat or the balance of things in my life, that is why the work is very sensorial and contemplative, compositions that suggest sensations.
Describe your job in three words…
Transparencies, color, composition
What inspires you at the moment?
My work has always been influenced by the circumstances of my life. The place where my studio is located is what gives me ideas about the materials I work with. For example, having a studio in a village has made me work with domestic materials found in school stationery stores. Working in a city gives me more industrial and technical materials. Thus, the formal search for the work is influenced by the geographical context.
I get inspired by what I am experiencing at the moment. “Nido Chileno” for example, I made it when I was living in Chile and I was looking to connect with someone, with something. I wanted to feel contained by a culture that was new to me. I wanted to blend in, a new life was beginning to be born for me, I think the screen prints show a bit of that. “Así se siente” is how a good hug made me feel, to connect with another. That series is inspired by the longing for that hug and that feeling of being truly connected with another.
Do you have any contemporary or historical artists who influence your work?
Hilma Af Klint and Eva Hesse are my idols. Georgia O' Keef is my crush!
What makes you most proud as an artist?
Being honest with myself. Doing what I like, what I love. Not being afraid of breaking my heart because I know it is material for my works and my process.
See works by Camila Barreto
