RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS WITH ~ JUAN MIGUEL PALACIOS BY PABLO G. VILLAZAN

In today’s session of “Rapid Fire Questions”, Brooklyn artist Juan Miguel Palacios shares his Rapid Fire Answers with our good friend, Pablo G. Villazan.

Madrid-born, Brooklyn-based artist Juan Miguel Palacios paints figures which appear to crumble, drip, and dissolve. Using unusual surfaces like collapsing drywall, his intimate paintings interrogate complex emotions like mourning, restlessness, and inequality––emotions which “wound”. Palacios’ works tightly focus on the face, rendered in muted colors, dripping and fading in anguish. He merges socio-political realities and his own personal experience to create something modern and recognizable. - Morton Contemporary.

So, Ready! Set! Gooooooo!

Who is Juan Miguel Palacios?

Spanish artist based in Brooklyn

Did you always want to be an artist?

No, That is a funny story though.

Apparently, I was that kind of hyperactive kid, who kept doing many things at the same time. Although one of my favorites was painting. An activity that went with astonishing speed, from paper to table, table to floor and floor to wall.

My mother, somehow tired of the situation, tried to enroll me in a children's art school. I was 6 years old then, and like the great majority of children at my age, I guess, I wanted so bad to go to karate classes. My mother, after some time trying and seeing that I did not accept her offer and knowing that I was incapable to kill a fly, she decided to lie to me. So, one afternoon she told me: "It's okay, let's go to karate classes.” I still can remember that day, as we were walking down the street mimicking "karate kid" and when we finally arrived, it was at an art school! Although tremendously disappointed by my mother's lie, I remember seeing all the painting's supplies, the easels, the canvases and I was so amazed that I decided to give it a try. After that day, I’ve never done anything different.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I guess, it comes from everywhere. My work is a reflection of what I live, what I feel and what I think. So, I could say, it comes from my present.

Which artists have the greatest influence on your work?

It is an interesting question because on one hand, many artists have influenced my work although, at the same time, I have never wanted to have favorite artists trying to not get them to influence my work. Furthermore, it would be very difficult to make a list without leaving many out.
At the end, any artistic manifestation itself is what influences my work.

What is your process to create your work?

My creative process is very chaotic. Every day is different. The only routine I have is going to my studio every day. One peculiarity of my creative process is that I need to work on many pieces at the same time. I can't start a single work and finish it without obsessing over it. I need to understand the conversation that occurs between different works in progress. That conversation is what makes me move forward and determines when I need to stop.

Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?

Music

What is the meaning behind your artwork?

Although my work is clearly figurative, it contains a strong conceptual load behind it.
The last few years I have been working about all these situations of inequality and the concept of “aggression” behind it. With the recent and unfortunate incidents that we have experienced lately, and the “black lives matter” movement, as a logical social response. I think in this particular moment, the popular voice has more strength and power to bring the changes that we all need.
In this new creative chapter, and due the unprecedented situation that we all are living, I’m more interested in narrative scenes that allude to the memory of our history, with certain hints of humor.

Imagine that your paintings could talk, what would they say about you?

That I’m a wonderful guy or that I’m crazy or who knows. The more I pretend to know myself, the less I actually know me.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Probably, strategy. I have spent my entire life locked working in my studio without giving too much thought and importance to everything else happening in the art world, and how the market works.

Do you find the social channel’s influence Positive or Negative?

Totally positive. In my case I only use them for my work.

Describe in 3 words how social channels affect you as an artist.

Inspiration, information, exposure.

What is your dream project?

I don’t have a specific dream project. My dream is having the opportunities and resources to think bigger.