Artist in conversation: ARIEL CHAVARRO AVILA

Ariel Chavarro Avila was born in the Central Andes Mountains in Colombia. His love for nature, colour and art began as a little child. He attended both the Fashion Design School Arturo Tejada Cano followed by Universidad de los Andes where he specialised in Fine Arts and he became a Master in Fine Arts. In 2000 Ariel moved to Madrid, Spain and continued to exhibit in Europe. In 2013 Chavarro went to live to London, U.K. where he is still exhibiting worldwide. Avila has been collaborating with art galleries, art curators, art dealers, museums and foundations. Ariel has been campaigning to plant millions and billions of trees across the globe.

Follow Ariel here.

- Welcome to The Holy Art. Could you tell us a little more about your background, and how did you begin creating art?

I was born in 1970 in the country side more exactly in the Central Andes Mountains in Colombia. My mother farm was surrounded by coffee plantations with a lot of forests, my first memories were seeing up to the trees because my mother and my father were carrying me in their arms, all I could see was green and blue. My parents were very poor and we were living there for a while. I was appreciating what we had, nature and colour have given me the opportunity to be connected spiritually with art, they are my absolute passion and love.

What art do you most identify with?

 Art and artists have been influencing me as the person I am. Studying History of Art from the very beginning of Humanity, when the first men were creating very minimalist paintings on rocks, of course they had to work on ceramic, textiles and in their first homes or caves were they were living in groups to protect each other. Anthropology and Archeology have given proof of their existence and thanks to those studies I can consider myself as a privileged person to investigate through diverse human periods to create my art. Rustic art and Contemporary Art have a very deep and a very strong connection. I have the most amazing appreciation for art and one of my obsessions is Minimalist and Contemporary Art.

- Can you describe one artwork or series from your oeuvre that you feel was pivotal in your career? 

Colours of the Soul Series is really interesting because I bring texture and colour to my audience because people can feel their emotions, sensations and they can remember in a positive way what did happen or what is going on in their lives when they are in front of my paintings. There is something deeper in ourselves that we cannot explain, all we know it is there, it is ethereal, I am not talking about our brains and it gives us an inexplicable contemplation about our spirituality.

- Which other great artists inspire you and why?

From Prehistoric through Persians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks to Raphael, Botticelli, Da Vinci, to Chagall, Picasso, Dali, Pollock, Barbara Hepworth, Georgia O’Keeffe. All artists have and deserve my respect and my admiration to leave their legacy to humanity.

- Can you talk about the process of creating your work?

Absolutely. Apart of reading and studying History. Most of my paintings come from my dreams. It is very unusual but I have dreamed seeing Leonardo Da Vinci creating The Mona Lisa and so many artist during their process of their creation as Picasso preparing Güernica. And as déjà vu, while I am drawing or painting I can see what I was seeing in my dreams. And not as most of artists they can see their paintings finished, I cannot, I have to finish them to appreciate the final results.

- What advice would you give to emerging artists entering the art world?

My best advice to emerging artists is to work and to never give up because All we artists are learning every moment, all we have frustrations of course and we have to find our way through. It can be painful and learning and getting inspired at any time. Persisting and practising and if you feel tired of trying, rest a little and continue working.

- What do you hope that the public takes away from your art?

I hope people can interact with joy and happiness every time they look to my paintings. I love working with colour and wish the public can have a positive and a warm feeling when they appreciate my art.

- What is your dream project?

I have some dream projects as to plant millions and billions of trees worldwide, to contribute with environmental projects and to provide funds to educate poor communities and to give their children an opportunity to have access to a better education.

- Finally, are there any projects you are currently working on and able to speak about?

Yes, at the moment I am working on a project called The Mona Lisa Project. Leonardo Da Vinci had the commission to make the portrait of Lisa Gheraldini who had a very rich background but she married a textile merchant who was married before and he had some children who look and to care, Lisa was in charge of them and her husband was dealing with slave women brought to Europe from the Nort of Africa. I cannot imagine how much she was suffering during that marriage. Leonardo decided to paint it the last years of his life. He painted it and then he created a new portrait on top of the original one. It had been recognised as a new contemporary portrait style of that time. Portraits were quite boring without anything else. La Gioconda was the first person having a background in the world.