Finding Beauty in Imperfection and Nature with Artist Carla Cascales

Name:
Carla Cascales
Photography:
Carla Cascales
Words:
Caroline Meeusen

Barcelona-based artist Carla Cascales Alimbau finds beauty in imperfection and transfers this into her beautiful and authentic sculptures, drawings and paintings. After studying advertising at first, she followed the more creative path she was destined for and studied graphic design and illustration, after which she could fully dedicate herself to her passion: arts. Her artworks carry a certain subtleness and minimalist aesthetic with some architectural inspirations. Using raw and natural materials and tones, Carla obtains an earthy and sometimes Mediterranean look in her pieces. In her constant search of the essence of forms and the balance of materials, she explores the imperfection and transience of beauty, celebrating imperfections. Carla already held solo exhibitions in Madrid, London and New York and showed several art installations in renowned institutions such as the Maradero Creation Center in Madrid. Today, she talks inspirations, beauty and authenticity.

VISUAL PLEASURE Magazine:
Did you always know you’d be an artist or end up in the creative field?

Carla Cascales Alimbau: I always knew within myself that art was my passion, from a very young age. But when it came to studying, or choosing a profession, I was afraid of not being able to make a living from it, that is why I decided to study a profession where I could have some stability. After some time I realized that if you don't listen to your true self you can never feel happy. No matter how stable you are, you are never calm and free.

How and when did you start making art works?

It was 5 years ago (2016). My father had a small storage space, an old studio, I asked him to rent that space because I felt I needed to start creating something. He spent many years making models for architecture, miniatures of buildings for various architectural projects, but with the economic crisis of 2008 and the advancement of 3D printing machines it is a profession that has been lost today, and he had to close his studio. Even so, he kept all his old tools with which I began to make sculpture. He is the one who taught me the love for materials and the basic techniques of sculpture.

What was the first piece you ever made?

A sculpture made of marble pieces that I found abandoned in the street, a kind of marble collage.

When and how did this turn into a career?

I was lucky that I could earn a living as a freelance designer, at that time I was working in a big multinational company as an illustrator of prints for clothes. I quit my job and decided that I would dedicate every morning to sculpture and in the afternoons I was doing projects as a freelance designer. After two years I was already able to earn a living as an artist and I didn’t have to do any more design work, but I have to say it was a very intense time.

How did you come to develop this earthy and authentic style?

Since I don't have an academic background in art, I suppose that my style is much freer, I really do what I feel and what I like.

How do you celebrate and find beauty in imperfection?

Always using natural materials and respecting their organic shapes, highlighting their natural degradation, their irregular tones.

What do you want your pieces to evoke?

Balance, nature, the beauty in imperfection, the profundity in earthiness and authenticity above all.

Do both your paintings and sculptures have the same theme?

I feel that all my works are part of the same. I have not specialized in a specific material or technique. Even though my minimalist style is very defined I love to experiment, sometimes I create sculptures, sometimes paintings, sometimes paintings that are pure texture and volume as if they were sculptures.

What do you love about using natural materials and soft, beige colors so much?

Nature is the greatest artist of all time, and we are nature, there is no material that can surpass the natural. Regarding colors, the same thing happens to me, as I only use natural pigments, the resulting colors are never phosphorous, but neutral and natural. Now I am working on a new series of terracotta paints where I work with pigments that I extract directly from stones, red rocks and sands, different from the beige ones I usually use but also totally natural.

What makes you start a new piece, what gives you the idea or inspiration for it?

For me creating is part of my day to day, my mind is always actively capturing textures, shadows, tones... For me creating is part of living and it makes me who I am. But something that inspires me enormously is the Mediterranean Sea, the culture and the Mediterranean coast, it fascinates me.

What are your interests besides art? And how do you maybe incorporate them in your work?

Everything related to the arts interests me: music, sounds, cinema, photography, ceramics ... I would love to have more diverse interests, I think they would enrich my work but the truth is that my great weakness is the visual arts. Since I was little I have always had respiratory problems and my sense of smell is not very developed, which also affects taste, which has made other senses develop much more, for example touch and sight, then it is through them where I feel most deeply connected to the world.