We chatted to Adriana recently to get an insight into her creative process, understand the evolution of her work and find out what inspires her! Join us as we get a glimpse into Adriana’s distinctive visual universe…

How did your art practice begin and how has it evolved?

I studied Visual Communication and Graphic Design in Venezuela, and when I came to London in 2011 I did a BA in Textile Design at Chelsea College as part of UAL. 

It took me a long time to relax into the idea of being an artist. I’ve always hated labels and so was always trying new things and ways to express and create. The more I accept and listen to my urges the more I feel like my work can have a meaningful impact on me and others. Accepting my practice and its ups and downs has and is something I am still challenged by. There is not a day that goes by when I am not confronted by the humbling feeling of gratitude because I am doing something that brings me so much joy and can hopefully impact other people’s lives.

 Tell us about your studio practice. How do you create your artworks?

I really try to avoid a “Recipe” type of approach. I follow the DNA of a project, the queue of a collaborator, the colour that can express how I am feeling that moment, that day. Or an inspirational exhibition that changes how I approach my own practice. 

I try to go to the studio almost every day. I mainly explore lots of different avenues, try to work with specific colour palettes, shapes and materials that evoke feelings and mind states.

What do you hope that your work communicates to the world?

Informed by intense and very diverse emotions, I aim to create pieces that can nurture a state of mind, conscious of our human conditions through colour, shapes and evocative thoughts. Bringing to the surface my life experiences which derive from deep emotional contrasts. 

The search of space, balance and an aesthetic language as a way of belonging and mental wellbeing are key elements of my practice.

What is your ‘Je ne sais quoi’? That special something that makes your artwork unique.

It is hard to answer this one, it is really hard to speak “in third person” or with any sort of perspective about your own work. I am too close to it, I am part of it, or I am it. In that sense then, I suppose I am the ‘Je ne sais quoi’ - the only thing that’s unique about my work is that I am the one thinking it, living it and offering it to the world. 

When is your favourite time to create?

It is impossible to define. Some days you just have to make it happen, especially if there is a specific deadline or project. There are days that ‘flow’ much better much more fluently than others. Learning to accept it and pause, breathe, and understand that there is always time to keep evolving, making, painting and creating.

I definitely need to inhabit a space mentally, emotionally and physically in order to create. Which is why a studio practice for me is so important. A space with the allowance to be messy, leave stuff around, spread around and also dance ha! 

Some days I am more productive in the morning some days I can’t stop until the early hours. Night time is also great some days. To me it is all to do with my mental state, it takes me sometimes 2-3 hours to mentally ‘arrive’ to the studio and get flowing, start painting and stop doubting, stop thinking too much and just move the energy, translated into work and explorations.

Which other styles, artists or artworks have influenced you?

 I have found that on a good day anything and everything can be an influence and inspiration. Provided you are in a good and healthy mind set a lamp post on the street can be the start of a really interesting conversation and can inspire a thoughtful creation. 

I am deeply moved by architecture so naturally love and I am deeply moved by the work of Italian architect Gio Ponti, Ricardo Bofill and Mexican Architect Luis Barragan. I have recently been turning my eye to sculpture and have found deep pleasure going into rabbit holes finding Pierre Székely, Mexican Sculptor Pedro Reyes, Eduardo Chillida and Brazilian sculptor Luiza Miller. One of my all time absolute favourites for her work and also her writing and way of thinking is Barbara Hepworth. From the art world, I have always come back to Egon Schiele, Sonia Delaunay, Olafur Eliasson, Natalie Dupasquier, Caroline Denervaud, textile artist Anni Albers and his husband Joseph Albers.  It is a hard one because I find that I can keep on adding names ad infinitum!

I find that the most inspiring artist are those who carry their art into a way of living as opposed to just a practice, it is holistic and this is truly inspiring for me. I also find incredible amounts of inspiration from my friends and the independent artists I have collaborated with. There is nothing quite like it. 

How was lockdown, artistically? Did you find it a challenge, or was it a refreshing change? Did you create any lockdown-inspired art?

For me it was incredibly insightful. I was so drawn to paint, think and create it was an incredible aperture into the work I do today. It worked as a sort of licence to develop ideas that perhaps otherwise I wouldn’t had ‘time’ to. 

We've all had time to reflect this year, and to think about how we’d like the ‘new normal’ to look. What changes would you like to see in the post-COVID art world?

I would say embracing the slowness, more thoughtful and focused movements in every single aspect of our lives. From slowly enjoying a meal, every bite of it, to taking the time to think about ideas, read, learn and slowly watch how all of this works as a balm into our practice. Whatever that is, if you are a cook, a banker or a teacher, if we nurture our day to day lives and habits we will lead happier and healthier lives.

Has your appreciation of art changed since you began your professional art career?

I’ve always loved art, been inspired by it and moved by it. Of course, being an artist myself I now look much deeper into each artist’s life and career to understand their work and the meaning beyond it better. I have a greater appreciation of the things and narratives that escape our bare eyes.

If you could choose a piece of work from Artsnug to ‘snuggle up with’ which would it be?

I love and would choose any of Jonathan Lawes’ pieces!

Do you have any advice for artists just starting out?

I reckon the best advice I wish I could give myself in retrospect is: keep developing your work, keep concentrating on the work, do not worry or let yourself doubt when faced with rejection. The important things always happen during the development and failure of an idea that then leads to the next project and so on… Always be curious and open to try new things, take new paths and explore beyond the comfortable.

Is there anything else you would like admirers of your work to know?

They should know that I am not more special than they are, that I have similar urges and doubts and that I am really honoured and genuinely happy that they like what I do. If they do like my work, then it is just a reflection of their own inner joy and intense emotions, and that is great!