Nerea Azanza | Visceral Art

Bio

Nerea Azanza is an emerging Spanish visual artist based in Paris. Due to her scientific background and experience in cultural heritage restoration, she is passionate about experimenting with diverse materials, investigating spatial patterns, and developing visual mutations and cloning. 

She holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts and an MFA in conservation-restoration of cultural heritage from the Fine Arts Faculty of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM, Spain), where she studied with artist Antonio López García and worked as an art teacher. She has been a preventive conservator-restorer specializing in wax anatomical models at the Javier Puerta Museum (Faculty of Medicine of the UCM) and The Museum of Human Evolution (Burgos, Spain) in collaboration with Professor J. L. Arsuaga.

Back to making art in 2018, she stands as a finalist in the Clavecin en France art contest 2022, with Fabienne Verdier as jury president and a semi-finalist in the COCA PROJECT 2020. She has been part of group exhibitions in Europe and the USA. Her first solo show took place in Paris in 2021 with Galerie Estrella. She exhibited for the first time in a museum, the UNTERLINDEN (Colmar, France), in 2022 due to the Clavecin en France contest. In 2024, some of her works were selected for the Lunar Codex with 33 Contemporary Gallery. They will be launched to the moon in the Codex Polaris mission, part of NASA's Artemis Program, in September 2025. 

Q&A

What is the purpose or goal of your work? 

My work aims to establish human connections. I strive not only to be part of others' spaces but also to eventually meet people who resonate with my vision and become friends. I stopped painting due to a misdiagnosis that lasted two decades, and I felt disconnected. Although I had worked in the arts my whole life, I couldn't paint, sculpt, or draw because the medication I never needed shut down my creativity. In December 2018, after a long battle of self-recovery, I took a Moleskine and began making colorful line drawings. I had never painted lines flowing from portraits before. I realized that I aimed to connect with people. We all seek connection, whether it's with other human beings, animals, nature, spiritual elements, cultures, places, or traditions. We haven't been born to be alone. I felt lonely, and once my creativity was flourishing again, all I could do was paint to express myself in ways I never did. My work seeks to connect with you, the viewer, and I hope that you feel part of the connection I am exploring. My goal is to nourish our permanent human desire for connection.

Which art trends inspire your current work?

Four main elements inspire my work. Japanese aesthetics. I even work with two Japanese models.

Additionally, the lines of parametrical architectural design deeply influence the precision and movement of my work. My body movement marks and flows as I paint, creating precise freehand lines. In this regard, I am particularly drawn to Zaha Hadid's work.

Furthermore, the disrupted realism inspires the transformed features in my portraits. I paint the same faces repeatedly, from self-portraits to my Asian models, each time transforming them differently to convey new expressions and feelings based on the theme I am exploring in the painting.

Lastly, fabric art plays a significant role in my work. I sew lines on the portraits that I expand afterward, and my larger paintings hang as tapestries made of handcrafted, eco-friendly supports that I treat. Sewing is a mark-making process that reminds me of all the influential women in my life, from my grandmothers to my mom and aunts.

How has your education helped you in your career? 

My education has freed me to achieve my aesthetics, mixed media techniques, singular eco-friendly supports and praxis, in a few years. Everything finally falls into place and makes sense. While I didn't initially plan to become an artist, it was inevitable. I felt like a puzzle, but now I feel complete.

I started studying chemistry in college because my parents are scientists and they didn't see me as an artist. I didn't come from an artistic background, except for my paternal grandmother, who was a jewelry designer. Despite the scientific environment at home, I always enjoyed drawing with her. I don't regret my years studying chemistry as it has greatly helped me in working with mixed media techniques and understanding the technical aspects of creating a stable artwork where the elements interact harmoniously. 

Although I didn't complete my chemistry degree, I earned money as a professional art copyist, and I moved to Madrid and joined the Fine Arts Faculty of Complutense University. I hold a Ph.D. in Fine Arts and a Master's in Conservation-Restoration of Cultural Heritage. Before transitioning to a professional artist in 2019, I worked as a preventive conservator-restorer in university museums and foundations. Restoring art is a meticulous process, and my work reflects that. I am dedicated to creating art that endures the test of time. I understand the factors that can lead to the deterioration of my paintings and work in the studio to ensure their stability against temperature and humidity changes, UV exposure, and more. I refer to my studio as "the lab" because I conduct extensive research on materials and experiment with various techniques. In restoration studios, we prioritize eco-friendly practices and respect for nature, and I apply these principles in my Parisian studio.

What are your most valued skills as an artist?

I am a curious person and I love learning. I believe both are skills that I will continue to develop throughout my life. Growing up in different countries and being surrounded by people from diverse backgrounds due to my parents' work has given me an open-minded perspective. 

I have excellent visual memory, a keen sense of color, and strong spatial skills. When I was a child, a school team informed my parents that I had a natural talent for understanding space. "She should be a pilot or an artist," they said, which made my parents laugh. People have always admired my steady hand when painting precise freehand lines without the use of sketching or masking techniques. Having a steady hand is a crucial skill in art restoration, and what people may not realize is that my eyes and brain constantly measure and study the space as I paint. This intuitive process allows me to precisely paint circles, lines, and geometric shapes and make the composition work within the space. 

My memory operates in a visual manner; I struggle with memorizing data but can repeatedly reproduce the same color and create the perfect mixture. I remember lines, shapes, patterns, and even features. When I was 16, I worked as a professional copyist while still in school. The artist who trained me and invited me to join his team always considered it a plus.  I can combine colors harmoniously without relying on color theory or creating samples. 

Describe a piece of art you are most proud of. Why? 

Origin is a series that establishes a dialogue between human identity concerning our current society, today's historical situations, and the digital age. These large format pieces are installations hung from the ceiling or the wall. The painting represents the current cultural disruptions with the aim of connection. Besides our differences and fights, the human race is a whole. The portrait of the artistic model, Anna Uchiyama, is printed on Japanese rice paper due to her Asian origin. Organic lines of sewn threads cross her features and extend with painted lines over the handcrafted support. This eco-friendly textile, treated with a golden leaf, acts as a cosmogony. Then, her roots find the place that reunites all human beings: the Universe.

I am incredibly proud of this piece because it is the seed of The Origin Series, which is my favorite. It has a beautiful story of connections. When I arrived in Paris, I had the pleasure of meeting Anna Uchiyama and being part of a book that an international team put together around her. She is a fantastic artistic model who works with remarkable artists worldwide. As an artist with a short career, I was surprised that they liked my work in 2020 and invited me to be part of the project. It was a "WOW" moment for me. Origin became the central point of an ongoing series. As Anna says, it is a work that connects me back to Japan through its lines and cosmic look. Thanks to this work, I developed a friendship with the model, and we continue working together and drinking green tea when possible.

Nerea Azanza

Origin, 2022

Mixed Media on rice Japanese paper and handcrafted eco-friendly fabric with golden leaf

56 7/10 × 54 7/10 × 2/5 in | 144 × 138.9 × 1 cm

Susan Lim | Fine Art

Bio

Susan Lim was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She moved to the United States for college and graduated with a Bachelor degree in Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music. The entertainment industry was not a good fit, she then ventured into an online clothing business, her first love, and it lasted for 15 years. A devastating miscarriage in 2018 led her to taking art classes to alleviate her sorrow. She has been obsessed with everything art ever since and thinks that art saved her from that deep dark place.The pandemic lockdown in the year 2020 helped jump start her art career when she offered to paint portraits for a donation to Feeding America on Instagram. She painted 9 portraits of people and pets for that campaign. Her painting “Lean On Me” was a finalist in the animal portrait category at the Portrait Society of America’s members only competition in 2021.

Her favorite subjects are people, as there are so many stories untold within our faces. She has been creating conceptual and figurative art. She completed an underwater and floral series and is in the middle of creating another series with flowers and beauty. She believes that the world needs more beautiful art as we all strive to make it a better place.

Q&A

What's the purpose or goal of your work?

The goal of my work is to make people happy and inspired. I have a painting of a girl pouting when 3 hummingbirds were messing with her and her crown. It was in an exhibition in Laguna Beach for 2 months. When I see people walk away with a big smile, I know my work is complete.  I want my work to also evoke emotion and take their breath away. Ideally, art lovers who viewed my work, should walk feeling happier or more inspired than they were before entering the room. That to me is success.

How has your style changed over time?

I used to paint with very precise and tight brush strokes. My paintings looked like photographs with a hyper realistic style. Over time, I realized that the characteristic that sets a painting apart from photography is its textures, unique brush strokes and painterly quality. It should also have 3 dimensional quality to it as if you can almost touch the subjects and that it’s not flat. Moving away from painting hyper realistic art, I now prefer to paint with looser brush work with softer edges. 

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of professional art?

My favorite part of professional art is that it allows me to create work that is uniquely me, with subjects I love and am inspired to paint. I’m in love with the process of coming up with something conceptually, and then to complete the process by making my vision a reality with props and models. Every step is a joy to me, be it the planning stage, the photo shoot, everything in between and the finished painting. I’m simply obsessed with art and its creation. My least favorite part of professional art is the business side of things. Every artist might agree with me on this. We are creators, not business people. Plus,  I’m also the worst at marketing myself and getting myself out there. It takes just as much time managing the day to day non art side of the business as it is to paint. Sometimes we spend more time on business than painting itself! Tasks like managing my website, sending newsletters, accounting, taxes, shipping and the constant struggle with sourcing the cheapest possible top notch supplies and materials for my work in this economy, can be a challenge to balance. These things take me away from painting, which I much rather do. 

Do you have a network of other artists, and how do they support you?

It’s so important to be surrounded by supportive and positive artist friends. Because being an artist could mean having the constant self doubt and insecurity within us. The ups and downs of not making ends meet or the frustration of a failed painting. These friends could provide views from a different angle and perhaps ways for us to solve problems. A network of supportive artist friends means people to commensurate with as they understand what it is like to be an artist. Many people think art is a glamorous job and that it’s easy and only artists will understand what we as artists go through mentally and physically. Lastly, you need one or two trusted artist confidants/advisors. When we are frustrated with our paintings, these are people I trust for their artistic eyes to point out things that I may have missed when I’m stuck with a painting. You might have advisors who are not artists but still have great eye for art, though for me, my advisors are my closest friends at the same level I’m at.  

How do you manage a work-life balance as an artist?

I try to find the balance with work, self care and time with my family and friends. It’s so easy to forget to take care of ourselves when we are completely immersed in art. I have to remind myself to have my meals on time and take breaks in between painting and work, to stretch and hydrate. I also make it a point to take time off on the weekend to spend time with my husband and friends. Lastly,  it is important to be active and keep myself healthy physically, and to have enough sleep and rest everyday. It’s not always possible since we get into so many things in life, but I always try my best to adhere to a balanced lifestyle and schedule. I’m still learning to say no to things.

Describe your ideal working environment.

My ideal working environment would be neat and tidy with lots of storage space and stations for every task I need to complete on a day to day basis. I will have a large north facing studio with floor length windows or skylights, getting the most constant source of lighting. I also dream of a decent size space for photo shoots and have it double as an area to teach small groups of students. At the moment, I’m making it work with a small space I have, but one can only dream and hopefully make it a reality someday.

How has your education helped you in your career?

I was classically trained and took weekly classes on and off for a year. Then, I attended workshops with artists I love and admire, learning how to paint alla prima (wet on wet). There are so many ways to start and finish a painting. During this time, I have tried painting many different subjects from different artists. You name it, I tried it, be it master copies, still life, painting people, animals,  landscapes… Having tried everything helped me discover what I love painting the most, people. And having the foundation on how to create an archival painting has helped me create work that will last many lifetimes. There was a point in time, I was copying my teachers as closely as possible, painting the way they do. But over time, I was able to move away from copying and build my own style of painting. It’s important for me to not lose my voice as an artist but to apply everything good into my practice in the studio and on set. It is so easy to become the “mini me” of these artists. I learnt to not lose myself in the process. If it doesn’t feel comfortable, it’s not me, don’t do it. 

What was your first experience of working as a professional artist?

It was during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. I felt the pull and needed to do something to help. I painted 9 portrait commissions for a donation to Feeding America. It was a great experience and it  jump started my professional art career. 

Tell me about a time you received negative comments or harsh criticism. How did you handle it?

There was a time when a viewer of my Mother Teresa’s painting commented that she does not have enough wrinkles on her face. I just laughed it off replying that Mother Teresa was not always old and wrinkly. She was once young and vibrant but always charitable and loving. I have yet to feel offended when people give me criticism. You can’t please everyone.

Describe a piece of art you are most proud of. Why?

I am most proud of my work “Reality”. It is the largest painting I have ever painted. It was a little nerve wracking to create such a large piece of work. Everything is larger than life, the frame, the panel and the brushes I used to paint it. With a total measurement of 47” x 76” frame included, I had to rent a van to transport it from my studio to the Laguna Beach’s Art-A-Fair exhibition. It was also the largest painting ever exhibited there and was everyone’s favorite. It is also in the finals of the Richeson 75 Figurative Competition and a semi finalist of the Art Renewal Center. Since Art Renewal Center partnered with the Lunar Codex, an image of this painting will be launched through a Nasa mission CLPS-TO-20A, via the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and the Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander, headed for the lunar south pole in September 2025. To say that I am proud is truly an understatement!