Briefly describe the work you do.
I develop sculptures in which I try to explore the relativity that comes from art/life, sculpture/painting, and comfort/instability.
Tell us about your background and how that has had an influence on your work and on you as an artist.
I have always been very interested in any kind of artistic manifestations,from cinema,music to architecture or literature.I am always looking to know better the world that surrounds me. My friends and family had always been really curious about everything and I think this has influenced me enormously.When I was a kid I really liked to draw ,then I started making small illustrations.When I went to uni my obsession for collecting small objects I found on the street started.This is how I became more and more interested in everyday objects and its aesthetic possibilities I don’t consider myself really attached to a “assemblage” practice.I like to have an active vision trough the objects and I try to explore the life those objects can have beyond its function.
The concept of the artist studio has a broad range of meanings in contemporary practice. Artists may spend much of their time in the actual studio, or they may spend very little time in it. Tell us about your individual studio practice and how it differs from or is the same as traditional notions of “being in the studio.”
Last year I used to have my studio located in a different place from my residency,In a way this allowed me to differentiate my social life with the productive one, I was always carrying a small diary in which I put things that interested me.
This year my workplace and my residency are in the same place,this allows me to be quicker at the time of testing materials and developing concepts.Both situations had its pros and cons and have produced different outcomes .
What roles do you find yourself playing that you may not have envisioned yourself in when you first started making art?
Maybe all the administrative work that someone has to develop in order to show the projects.Beyond the relaxed atmosphere it exists at university this last years I’ve realize that the artistic sphere is most of the times very competitive and sometimes more closed than how they present it to you when you study.
When do you find is the best time to make art? Do you set aside a specific time everyday or do you have to work whenever time allows?
I don’t really like to have an specific time just to make art, for me the working process starts with the election of materials,or even before in the idea or the interest something you see,listen or think.Personally I think that the artistic production is something very interdisciplinary that affects a lot of aspects in your day to day.
How has your work changed in the past five years? How is it the same?I think it has changed in the way that mi previous projects used to be bi-dimensional works while now I’m more interested in the space.Anyway I don’t reject from this influence,for a wide range of the works I make the wall is a fundamental part in the structure of the piece.
How have people such as family, friends, writers, philosophers, other artists, or even pop icons had an impact on the work you do?
I feel that everything that is surrounding you has a influence in the work you make.from surfing on the internet to watching a film.The over control of the productive process can make sometimes the pieces really conservative in the conceptually speaking.For me the most important thing about making art is to be able to get influence from everything and play with what surrounds you.
Have you ever been pulled in the direction of a pursuit other than being an artist? What are your other interests?
One of the most important things about making art is that it is a complete vocation.Sometimes is just about being constant and do what you really like in order to have a good range of work .I’ve always been really interested in all the creative practices,although now I’m just doing sculptural or intallation projects I am starting to become curious about editorial design. For now is something really amateur but in the future I would like to develope zines or artist books.
About
Aitor González (1994) is an emerging artist that lives and works in Valencia. Aitor has studied in the Leeds University and in the Polithecnic University of Valencia.In his practice he develops sculptures in which he introduces materials from everyday life, such as foam padding, sponge and air pillow cushion. In these pieces, he makes an attempt to explore the material properties of the elements he uses, as well as their sculptural possibilities. The aim of this is to move these found objects away from their common usage, while he tries to inscribe them into an abstract aesthetic.The pieces are halfway between the past usefulness of their components, which is entirely given by their form, and their re-signification as a cultural object.Although his practice often refers to the opposition link between the notions of provisionality and commodity, the sculptural objects seem to have found that commodity in external elements that simultaneously show their weakness and protect them from the perils of a hostile environment: the atmosphere, the bare floor, the viewer.
They’re armors that try to provide comfort to the sculpture’s core while they express their hidden/inner vulnerability. The monumental quality of the sculptures is therefore lost by the introduction of found objects that gives them a naked and vulnerable appearance.
Just as if somehow they were scared of their exhibition to the audience, and subsequently, of the potentially unlimited number of interpretations they could trigger
Aitor Gonzalez has been exhibiting in different spaces between Spain,Portugal and United Kingdom.
All images copyright of the artist and Their Used with permission.
365 Artists | 365 Days 