Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Lopez.
Hi Kevin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! Thanks for having me. I’m a figurative visual artist who primarily works with oil paints, graphite, and charcoal. I was born and live in Houston and currently work out of my studio at Box13 ArtSpace.
As far as how I’ve gotten to where I am now, I’ve always had a love for art. I’ve been creating for years but I never thought anything would come of it. Then Covid-19 hit. It had terrible, lasting effects on us individually and as a society. Mass isolations forced us to stay home and avoid human contact for months. I have always been a shy and reserved person, often seeking a quiet corner to disconnect and find composure. I enjoyed my time in isolation but eventually, I found myself craving human contact. I did not anticipate how lonely I would become.
This was something completely new and foreign to me! How could I have not known myself? If I was wrong about something that I thought was so inherently true about myself, how could I know someone else? How can I truly know someone, ANYONE else? This new understanding and introspection pushed me to pursue art, to explore myself and to find some sort of common ground and visual language to have a discussion about how we see ourselves.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yes and no. I remember having an elementary school teacher become absolutely livid at me for having the audacity to color my landscape clouds orange, instead of the “normal” white. That teacher definitely had a lasting effect on me as a child and I think she had a negative influence on me later in life.
At the university I attended, undergraduate students take basic art classes and then submit a portfolio of their work to continue on to the more advanced classes to pursue a degree in a particular medium. I tried and failed, every time to get into the advanced painting classes. I was devastated and forced to change my major.
I think I’ve had to struggle with my own confidence and self-worth. I’d like to believe that I’ve matured past worrying about what others think of me, but that doubt still lingers. I have come to the realization that I shouldn’t let others dictate how, or even if, I should pursue art. I just need to keep moving forward.
I feel like everyone has struggles in their lives and I’ve had my share but ultimately, I’m grateful for where I am and how I’ve gotten here.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Like I said earlier, I’m primarily a figurative artist who works with oil paint, graphite, and charcoal. I use inanimate objects and the human figure to explore themes of identity, Solipsism, and the thought that we can never truly know each other; the idea that our experiences and our true selves are necessarily private and unknowable to others.
My work is mostly realistic to ground the visuals in our shared reality while using surreal elements to subvert what a realistic portrait is and what it can convey. The realistic figures and objects in my work are multiplied and divided, cut and pasted and moved to create simultaneously fluid and static compositions. These new figures ask the viewer to find their true identity, if that is even possible, and to question themselves and who they believe themselves to be.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
It’s funny, I don’t really think there are surprising facts about myself. I guess I’d say that in addition to my art practice, I enjoy technology and woodworking.
Because I’ve always enjoyed art and computers, I’ve been able to teach myself how to paint digitally in Photoshop, shoot and edit photography, and recently, I’ve even found a love for videography! It’s so interesting creating visual art that has an element of time associated with it, as opposed to the still images of drawings and paintings. Additionally, I pride myself on being able to fix technological problems for myself and others.
As far as woodworking goes, I like working with my hands. I enjoy that tactile sensation of working with wood and I’ve found that I’m able to combine that enjoyment with my art by making frames, wood panels, and stretcher bars for canvases. I’ve also built various pieces of small furniture and plant stands just for fun.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kevinlopezart.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kevinlopezart
Image Credits
Kevin Lopez
