Interview
Natalia Cádiz Ramírez
Natalia was born in Valdivia, Chile, on March 14, 1991. She lived in Santiago briefly before settling down in San Felipe. She now lives in Valparaíso.
She has a Bachelor’s of Art from the University of Playa Ancha in Valparaíso, graduating in 2015. She is currently in her last year of a Master's degree in Cultural Management at the University of Playa Ancha, with the aim of offering a real contribution to the cultural development of Chile.
For the last 5 years, she has found a second vocation in art education towards children and youth. She is dedicated to teaching and her personal work in the city of Valparaiso, Chile.
Natalia is mother to an 11-year-old boy who has already proven to inherit her passion for art.
Could you tell us about your background and how you started your journey in the art world?
“My story with art has existed forever. For as long as I can remember, my hobby has been drawing, and my favorite gifts were suitcases of pencils and paintings. That is why when I was 9 years old, my mother enrolled me in an oil painting workshop which I participated in for two years. After that, I continued to cultivate my passion for art until I decided to formally study a Bachelor’s of Visual Arts at the University of Playa Ancha in Valparaíso.
The curious thing is that my motivation was to study and dedicate myself to sculpture, because I had no experience in it, and it is a discipline that I admire deeply. However, it’s only with painting that I felt a very intense connection. I reconnected with it with the passion of a child, and from there I swore never to stop painting. Today, I have been dedicating myself to oil painting and my creations for 9 years, which has given me great joy and satisfaction. I have participated in individual exhibitions and group exhibitions with various local and international publications in Spain and Mexico, as well as receiving recognition such as the Young Talent of the Illustrious Municipality of San Felipe award.”
What would you say inspires you most?
“My great inspiration has been the Surrealist movement. It has allowed me to elaborate my own visual voice, my own language. I am inspired by life itself. It is my prominent theme today because I seek to learn daily about it and capture it, although on my way I have gone through various other themes. In the beginning, my inspiration came from my autobiography. I stuck with that for a few years, then later I approached the environmental issue and the state of deterioration of the planet, as well as my country's issues of politics and society, and then focused on Latin American issues, indigenous cultures and their current valorization in the territory.
However, despite the different scenarios, it motivates me a lot to be able to create images with hidden messages. That is, that the viewer can find their own message, different from mine, because it forces them to personally investigate to decipher it. That is my greatest artistic inspiration.”
“The artist who has most influenced my career is Rene Magritte. When I first saw one of his works, it was love at first sight. I knew immediately that this was my line. Since then, the surrealist style has been the voice of my creations.
I have also found great influence and admiration in the figure of Frida Kahlo, as the greatest international Latin artist in the world.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Each of my works is created with an elaborate message. There is none that I have painted without having worked on the message I want to express. However, what I love about my work is that that message that is mine does not have to apply to everyone. For the same reason, I do not like my works to be obvious. On the contrary, they always invite reflection and are completed only with the message that each viewer gives them.
This makes my messages varied and changing, although I have had creative stages such as autobiographical, environmental, political and social, Latin American and some more spiritual creations. They are all inherent in life. Within these processes, I continue to create reflective images of the cultures of Latin America, since I have observed that there is very little Latin American imagery. That is why I would like to offer a contribution and transversal support, using my roots expressed through my work.”
How would you describe your work?
“I present my reality, so I play with the mixture of realism and fantasy. I really like to paint as closely as possible and constantly improve my technique. My work is reflective, subtle, sometimes acidic and very subjective. I usually present criticisms of various ideas and ways of thinking of society and of myself, for which I have received praise and also dislikes in more than one work. I like to go hand in hand with the contingency and present my own idea of what happens, sometimes with a certain sarcasm, which gives it the greatest impact.
One of my goals is to create images that impact people at first glance. I remember that a teacher told us once in class that an average viewer sees a work for between 2 to 4 seconds, so I look for the unforgettable work to exist within that time.”
What is your creative process like?
“Many of my works are born from spontaneous ideas that I paint as they come to my head. Other times the messages come to my mind and I look for a way to find the right image. It is variable. I have ideas at all times, but not all of them get to be painted since I only select the best; the ones that have most intention, intensity and strength. When an image with these characteristics comes to my mind, my body immediately identifies that this idea is it, and I certainly paint it.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist is one who is able to connect minds and spirits through an intangible language. An artist is a communicator in society because he communicates ideas and messages that words cannot. That is his role. Just as there are scientists or mathematicians who measure accuracy, journalists or writers who narrate facts, there are artists who transmit, decipher and elaborate the code of emotions and sensations. That is why its relevance is so great, because art is inherent in being.”
“Currently the arts are not valued as they should; even less in countries such as Chile and Latin America. Therefore, it is a great responsibility that artists have to seek and use the space we deserve.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have participated in several collective and individual exhibitions, most of them held in San Felipe. Some of the most outstanding ones have been "Sanfelipeños Painters of the last 100 years", "The Threshold of Freedom" in Barcelona, in conjunction with Carey Gallery and the current virtual exhibition with 1819 Art Gallery.
Among my artistic achievements, the Mention Recognition Award stands out. The honorable jury category submission of the Valdivia and its River Contest of 2017, and the publication of my interview conducted by the magazine ART SECRET of July 2019, directed by Carey Gallery of Barcelona, with whom I maintain artistic projects with in Spain.”
