Pascuala Lira
Without limits there is movement, fluidity and colour as well as vibration. Pascuala knows this and for this reason she detaches herself from materiality to allow herself to escape control. The interaction that she establishes from the ornamental, the composition through non-linear resources, the repetition and distortion surrender to a free exercise, without limits of scope.
Could you tell us a little about the inspiration that inspired your work, and how it has evolved throughout your career?
My work has always evolved around the ornamental. At the beginning of my career there was a central figure and the decorative element was a complement, like the outline. Then the decorative motifs began to have more and more importance, taking over this central figure, overtaking it. In the end, only the decorative element remains, telling a story without main characters, but rather giving importance to what I had always thought of as superfluous. This is the starting point for developing the material and colour in painting.
What importance do you give to color in your paintings?
Color research is a huge thing to experiment with, it always surprises me. It's hard for me, but it's one of those good problems, the ones that make me obsessed with trying to solve them. Color depends on many factors to get the result I had in mind, so it's something that continually challenges me. I try to work with a limited palette, but along the way new problems arise that change the rules. Maybe it's not very noticeable to the viewer, but the small variations in my work are backed by a lot of trial and error. Since I work with paint, I have the flexibility to cover over and over again until I get a color that makes sense to me.
How has this time of quarantine and distancing affected your work?
I never stopped working, but not on a final piece, but rather as a kind of training. Since I work a lot with oils and paints, I had to change to cleaner materials like watercolor, pencils and pastels that were compatible with working at home. I also had to adapt to shorter working times. The result was more like a log to let go of my hand than anything else, works in small formats. It is difficult in the chaos of the family to do more elaborate things than that.
What inspires you at the moment?
I am always looking for references and inspiration. The mural painting of New Spain colonialism is something that has never ceased to surprise me. The freedom and ingenuity of the forms that are repeated and end up dominating the places. I am also inspired by many painters, by how they work with the material and how they solve the color.
Do you have any contemporary or historical artists who influence your work?
Wow, lots… I like Marlene Dumas, who achieves something very powerful with an economy of pictorial resources. I am very interested in Kai Althoff's work for the liberties he takes in his work. Vivian Suter for her ease with color and montage. I could go on forever… but Vuillard will always be one of my favorites.
