ASK THE ARTIST: 12 QUESTIONS & A JOKE,
is an opportunity for our gallery supporters, friends and clients to get to know our artists a little better. It’s a fun way to get a glimpse into the personalities of the artists and at the same time connecting the artist with their art.
Hope you enjoy!! Ida Victoria
Q: If there was a favorite work of art you could hang or display in your home, which would it be?
TO: My favorite from Galeria de Ida Victoria… “PETAL PUSHER” by Misty Martin (sold). It combines so much of what I love as it’s of a Mexi-artsy-vintage-bicycle. And I heard the light source is from the moonlight! How cool is that! I loved it the first moment I saw it. And… “OUR MODERN ANIMAL” by American (magical/realism) artist Kevin Sloan. I came across his work on Pinterest and I would love to see it in person one day. He inspires me to go further with my compositions and go bigger! This one in particular because I love octopi.
” Sloan’s work is characterized by a deep reverence for the natural world. The highly symbolic paintings are an ongoing inquiry into the relationship between the marvel of the natural world and the mundane and often blunt reality of the modern era. More poetic than merely descriptive, the work moves between lush and starkly theatrical. Recurring paired themes are fragility and strength, the expected and unexpected, loss and resiliency. His current work occasionally includes the figure after an absence of nearly 15 years. This new imagery is opening up new narrative and conceptual possibilities ” -http://www.kevinsloan.com/
Q: If there was one dead artist that you could hang out with for a day, who would that be? Why?
TO: Hands down – Frida. How cool would it be to sit around in a Mexican garden, play with her animals, drink tequila and paint together?! I did even more research on Frida Kahlo while creating some pieces for a mini show at the gallery earlier this year. Now I’m even more inspired by the artist and woman she was.
“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me, too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you..” – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter 1907-1954
Q: If there were a magic power you could use in your art making, what would it be? TO: To stop time so I could work as long as I wanted while all my other obligations just froze… and to levitate, so I could float and create, and my back would never hurt.
Q: If we were going to talk about your art, where would you want to start?
TO: Mixed-media-vintage-magical-realism that brings you to a happy place. (wow – thats a mouthful)
Q: What quality in others makes you want to slap them?
TO: People who don’t attempt the art of conversation and only talk about themselves.
Q: Art is so subjective, what kind of art is unappealing to you?
TO: Pale muddy colors with no movement.. and when the composition is unintentionally restricted by the boundary of a surface.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given as far as your art, inspiration or career? TO: Don’t pour ALL your thoughts into just one composition… its too much for one piece to handle. Series are great and they lead you in directions you were not expecting.
Q: What is most important to you…the subject, the process or the final work?
TO: It’s all about the process.. that IS the fun part! And it is the act of creating, getting messy and wearing my apron that makes me feel like an artist.
Q: If your work was edible, what would it taste like?
TO: Refreshing and (not too) sweet and makes you smile when you taste it…maybe it’s a cocktail???
Q: What is the one thing you need in your studio to work, other than your art supplies?
TO: More time.
Q: What is your most favorite piece of your artwork on display in Galeria de Ida Victoria now, and why?
TO: “Delamara” – probably because it reminds me more of Todos Santos than any of the other pieces I’ve done with my vintage ladies / Colourful Life series… and its a bit darker too.
Q: In the era of the internet, why do you choose to continue to work with galleries?
TO: Although my work would be categorized 2D, it really has a 3D look and feel. The way the different paint and papers overlap and are layered and sealed… I’ve been told its more enjoyable to see it in real life rather than on a screen. Plus… art shows are fun!
Why do I love Trisha Oldfield’s work?
I’ll never forget the evening I was checking email on my couch while watching a movie and received a new artist submission by Trisha, of her mixed media collage pieces. I got chills when the images started to download! I swear I responded in about 30 seconds, that I LOVED her work and YES, YES, YES, I wanted to have her in the gallery. I feel like Trisha’s pieces embodies my mission of the art I want to display and the theme of my art gallery in general- modern, edgy, colorful, s ophisticated, whimsical, humorous and Mexican-inspired. Trisha’s work has hung in the gallery now for 3 years and she has quickly become one of the most popular artists in the gallery, her work sells fast! Not only because of all the adjectives I mention above, but because technically, her collage work is seamless. The combination of her collage, with her painting and even the combination of the collage materials she uses- vintage magazine cut-outs, wallpapers, botanical/flora/fauna books, her own photography and lino-cut prints just to name a few, meld into one fantastical piece that does not read as a mish-mosh of medias but as a lively story-telling portrait. Her Colourful Life series created from vintage magazine models, sometimes famous actresses (Audrey and Elizabeth just to name a few) are turned into these fabulous Catrina-inspired Mexican women that celebrate Mexican culture, nature, life and even death in the most harmonious, colorful and happy way. Each work is a gem and her layering and detail and final varnish are always impeccably handled and professional. She has worked small in the past, because of space and travel, but recently completing a few large commissions has given her the bug to go big! Can’t wait to see what she creates in the future. Stay tuned!! -Ida Victoria My favorite piece in the gallery by Trisha is called JESICA. I love the long horizontal format that works so beautifully with the composition and that strong red background. Her work is just so cool.
