Interview: Martha Madrigal
Luca Curci talks with Martha Madrigal during VISIONS, third appointment of ANIMA MUNDI 2022, at Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello.

Born in Mexico City in 1979, from an early age she enjoyed creating images, settings, characters, and a mixture of fiction and reality. Her most remarkable quality was relentless curiosity and an imaginative mind. She spent her childhood next to a family in Mexico City. Years later they would move to the city of Colima. She concluded professional studies in Architecture in the city of Guadalajara, where she became familiar with the theoretical and philosophical concepts of the discipline. This contact would awaken an immense desire to understand the thought that accompanies creative genius. At the end of her degree, she practised the profession in various offices in Mexico City, focusing on the area of ​​design. Over time, she saw the visual arts as the ideal medium to express the inner world that she wanted to convey. Her change towards the arts was gradual, she initially entered the area of ​​thought, she studied a diploma in philosophy at the University of Berkeley and a diploma on Heidegger at the Faculty of Architecture of the UNAM, in 2009. In 2011 he entered the Faculty of Arts and Design at UNAM, to pursue a postgraduate degree in Visual Arts, and continued his training in drawing and painting at the San Carlos Academy and at the Saul Serrano Contemporary Art Center, at Mexico City. Drawing, painting, and illustration were the languages ​​that allowed her to capture her vision of the world. As of 2016, in collaboration with two artists, she prints illustrations on porcelain and textiles, under the name of Otter Sisters, the pieces are produced in Barcelona and distributed in design and memorabilia stores. Along with the creation of illustrations in different techniques, she delved into abstract painting with mixed media, which has allowed her (to communicate or convey) philosophical concepts in painting. Likewise, another topic of interest is understanding emotions and thought as a space, as common places inhabited in the day-to-day life of human beings. In this way, we can understand the forms that refer us to everyday objects and that become a site. Without forgetting that it is a metaphor, which invites the observer to create that space inside.

Luca Curci – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
Martha Madrigal – I was fond of drawing since I was young, philosophy captivated my attention; while my thought slipped into philosophy, my interpretations were applied in visual images. I studied architecture and was attracted to architectural theory, later I worked in architectural design for several years. In my professional practice, I was not as excited as I thought about leaving the discipline because was not the medium to express and attain the concerns I had. Completed a master’s in arts, at the Escuela Nacional de Artes y Diseño in Mexico City in 2013. Ever since continuing with several classes at la Academia de San Carlos, following with the artist Saul Serrano at his centre, there have engaged in a few techniques such as oil, photo painting, tempera, and encaustic. The experienced that has influenced me the most is death, realizing the impermanence and observing that humans die, but not their work or thinking. We reap what others sow; our thought is enriched by ideas of others already past. We are committed to future generations, and in our present lies their present too.

LC – Which subject are you working on?
MM – Inquiring about space and its relationship with the interactions performed on it, recently I have been considering space as a living character who alters the dynamics happening inside. As I entered to maternity, I was interested in the basic need of being nurtured and hold as a sentient being, not limited to humans. I question the sort of nourishment that can be acquired by space or inanimate objects found in a specific environment.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
MM – I appreciate concepts treated by artists, thinkers, and philosophers, their ideas become seeds. Those seeds will grow inside, as questions which later will take form in an image.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
MM – Portraying the concept faithfully into a piece of work is defiant, inserting thought and emotion in an assertive way to communicate an opinion about certain topic.

LC – How is your creative process?
MM – Images come to my mind, and I feel compelled to paint them. I start writing about the subject, about the opinion I want to communicate, usually, the perspective is linked to some authors that inspired me, so every work has a philosophical concept that is nested there. Posterior to that phase, I start drawing, and making the composition, looking for the colors, materials, and textures that best express the idea. Utterly in the canvas, there are a lot of changes because the image takes its own character, so I must adapt it with what I have planned before.

LC – What is the message linked to the artwork you have shown in this event? How is it connected to the theme of the entire exhibition?
MM – Certainly, Anima Mundi explores the connection between all living entities on the planet, also the bond between spirit and body. I see my work deals with the substance of beings and things, besides its significance.

LC – We were attracted by your last artistic production, has the artwork presented been created for the exhibition or as a part of preexisting works?
MM – The works presented at Visions are extracted from the body of work, that I have been doing in recent years. The statement resides in the value of the essence lying inside each element depicted in the pictures.

LC – Did you enjoy cooperating with us? 
MM – Absolutely, it was a great experience, the curatorial work is remarkable, and the production is very proficient; the curation shows art appealing and reflective.

LC – What do you think about ITSLIQUID Platform?
MM – It seems to me as a leading scenery for art collectors, artists, and societies in general, because the Platform offers a broad spectrum of possibilities to be in touch with current art works and the result of the present historical time. It is remarkable the myriad possibilities of venues and events in different cities and countries.

LC – What do you think about the organization of our event?
MM – It was a great experience, the communication is clear, the procedures are easy to follow, and the team members effective. Besides, throughout the process I was kindly accompanied, I feel very grateful.