Q&A: An Interview with Daniel Arteaga

What made you want to be an artist? 

My philosophy teacher shared with me the desire to know about the world around me. I was trying to find sense about my own life, and it was only through art and philosophy that I fed this need. I have to say that I grew up in a family of carpenters, so I was always around machinery, tools, and a workshop to build stuff with wood. I used to build my own things to play with, like airplanes and ships, things like this, to spend the time.  I think this period of time helped to develop my creativity further. 

Do you make artwork primarily to understand yourself, or to be understood by others? 

I make art to understand the world around me and to find its potential. I want people to feel the authenticity of the work, to feel surprised by it, and think that I could have been surprised too when I finished the artwork. 

What are your artistic patterns or tropes? 

I like the implicit narrative in the painting; it feels like a story with a beginning, a plot, and an end, and repeats. So the translucent sensation on some of the works helps me to inscribe images on top of others. The painting has to have good light around and everywhere without any main character because it is the viewer who plays this role. I like to use lines to emphasize control over the rapid gesture of paint and to create the structures so the gaze can fly around the painting with fluidity. 

Does your practice benefit from more freedom or restraint? 

I have a lot of freedom when making work. I usually start with a shape and a background of colour; I like a ground that suggests other shapes, and so I can correspond with the work appropriately. Any new additions to the work can completely shape the direction of the next step until I feel the work suggests enough to me.

Are you ritualistic or chaotic when it comes to creating art and maintaining a studio practice? 

I think I found order in my chaos. it definitely has to feel comfortable in the sense that I can be messy on the floor or the wall.  The first thing I do is to observe the work or whatever I made the previous day for a couple of minutes, this is because I like to reconnect with the work and that requires spending time with it, looking at it. Afterwards, I just started cleaning and preparing for the next session of work. 

Is there an unfinished or ‘failed’ work that still lingers in your mind? 

No, I like to recycle my paintings sometimes; I use some under-layer parts of a previous painting. So everything is in the edit in the studio. It happens that the worst paintings end up the best ones after I work on them. I guess I don't feel the pressure to ruin them. 

Do you struggle more with overworking a painting or with finishing altogether? 

I think it is harder to decide when the work is finished because sometimes it happens that you can finish the work in a few seconds, so I guess I find it difficult to know when it is done. It's hard to believe that something you make in 10 minutes can be so good to you. It is important to be mindful of this. I like to remember something a teacher told me about doing a good artwork: good work is like scrambled eggs, neither overcooked nor runny. 

Do you have a habit of collecting scraps that aren’t ‘art’ but feel like they belong to your world? 

I like to collect drawings of my friends in my sketchbook. I usually ask them to draw me something or make me a portrait (I also have a portrait I made of them, too). I have too many of my own drawings, so when I see them passing the pages in my sketchbook, it's like fresh air for my eyes. I find it fascinating to see the different ways of representing me, and very funny at the same time.

What are your studio crutches?

I usually like to work with no music, but I like to listen when I do something that requires less concentration, like stretching a canvas, for example. 

In an era where algorithms curate visibility, do you make work differently knowing it might be consumed in a scroll rather than in a gallery? 

I think social media can be dangerous for an artist; you should not believe everything that happens on these platforms. I don’t mind too much about this.

Do you feel comfortable deriving inspiration from online sources?

I like to watch the artist list in the galleries I like, it obviously isn’t the same as seeing the work in person but I can watch a lot of art in a few minutes.

How do you feel about juggling the many hats of an artist – the art maker, the marketer, the accountant, the lawyer, the negotiator, etc.? 

It’s difficult, I don't have the patience to deal with all of that because I need to be at all times making work at the studio. Although I’m getting better at managing my time. 

How do you measure your artistic progress?

The more exciting the work becomes, the better. I think everything starts from here, so for me it's not a surprise that people admire my work because I have my first encounter with it for the first time too. If l like it and I feel good making it, it’s alright with me. 

What’s one myth about the ‘art world’ you believed until recently?

That you have to make the same thing over and over again until the market recognises your work. I learned this during my Master's at the RCA, that the more you explore your own practice and sense of your own art and voice, the better. 

Do you ever feel pressure to intellectualise your work, and does that clash with the instinctive or emotive side of making? 

My work explores the process of painting, and through the making, the materials speak for themselves. I don’t have to intellectualise the work because it feels real to me.

Which comes first for you – concept, material, or feeling? Does that hierarchy ever shift?

Feeling, material, concept -  yes, it has to change, we can’t follow patterns. 

What are your favourite materials to use in your practice? 

Water and air, if you can call that a material. Everything that helps you to move the paint differently. 

What are some of your favourite art stores for supplies? 

I buy mostly everything online. I do like Golden paints. 

What are some of your favourite galleries to visit? 

Sadie Coles HQ, Thaddaeus Ropac.

What would you would recommend for someone getting into art making? 

Pierre Huyghe is an artist whom everyone has to see. Seeing his work helped me to understand my own. Firstly, trying to see as much art as possible, consuming imagery is very important for an artist. Secondly, I say this to myself, “every idea is valuable”, enjoy what you do, but do not let it become a habit. I buy colored pencils and draw a lot, all the time.