Meet the Artist:

Interview with Felix Kindelán

Felix Kindelán, a Berlin-born media designer, brings years of experience as an illustrator and art director to his unique works, exploring the realms of personal and interpersonal emotions. Through a captivating blend of baroque figuration, anatomical abstraction, and contemporary color play, his art presents a mesmerizing fusion of styles.

Tell us about your creative work and career. What should we know?

My paintings are questions that I ask myself. They arise in my deepest inner self. These questions are formulated by the feelings of my past self. It is about past perspectives on one's own life. My present self then transfers these questions into paintings. My self in the future will one day have new perspectives and answers to these questions. However, it started quite simply with an enthusiasm for drawing as a child. At the age of 15, it really started with the work on canvases. At the same time I was intensively doing graffiti in my hometown Berlin. After several years in the urban art scene, I realized that this art form does not help me to a deeper expression. I focused from this point only on painting. On the search for questions, narratives and the right form to implement them. When I started painting, it was mainly photos that I painted photorealistically. But I quickly realized that this did not give me the freedom to tell my story. I then taught myself the basics of human anatomy in order to create people according to my ideas. That's how I finally gained complete artistic freedom. I never studied art. Everything I know about painting I taught myself over many years. Self-study through observation, trial and error, and books on art history. Many books. After high school I only did an apprenticeship as a media designer. I worked as an illustrator and art director for a long time, on board games and books among other things, before I decided to go in the direction of painting.

What makes you and or your style unique?

I grew up in a German-Cuban working class family in Berlin. Apart from me, there was no one else in the family who was so enthusiastic about art. This unique position in the family was often met with misunderstanding. I had to find out everything about art on my own. There wasn't much support from my family. But I didn't let that get in my way and just did my thing. Exactly with this attitude I have also developed my style. It lets my experience as a graffiti artist shine through. I mix it all with contemporary abstraction, anatomy and baroque compositions. Today I am very grateful that I have never studied art, and so could completely individually assemble a style according to my personal interests. Without outside influences from professors and trends. Of course I tried to study art, but was rejected several times. But then I understood that I don't need to study and that I have to take everything into my own hands. I think this attitude and experience is my biggest motivation and makes me and my style unique.

How do you balance your personal life and your art practice?

The boundaries are fluid and I don't have a real balance. Or not yet. I think about painting a lot from morning to night. I prefer to read non-fiction books about art history instead of novels in my free time. I consume as much art as I can. My vacations are often based on where I can see what paintings and museums. Painting is a big part of me and my life. It's always there, in every second of my life. Even when I actually want to take a break. I love painting and believe so strongly in its essence that I never want to miss it.

What advice would you give to an artist just starting their art career?

I can only go by my own experience as a self-taught artist. It is often easier for studied artists to gain access to the professional art world. Either way, you should be confident, disciplined and organized. Even with setbacks and failures, just keep going. There is no general plan on how to make it. That's why it's important to be patient with yourself and the things that lie ahead. And not to lose the courage to take risks. Of course, you still need a portion of luck. But the longer you keep at it and don't give up, the more opportunities and successes will arise. You simply must not lose faith in your own abilities and visions. Even if it's sometimes hard and there are moments when you want to give up everything. But that's exactly when you have to keep going. The big always comes from the small.

What do you want people to understand or take away from your creative work?

With my painting I work off myself. It serves me as a space for self-reflection. The paintings serve me as long as I paint them. Once they are finished, they no longer need me and I have asked my questions through them. It's all the nicer then when they go out into the world and seek dialogue with other people. Whether people have the same questions for them or see something different in them is up to them.

What exciting endeavors lie ahead for you? What can our community anticipate from your future ventures, and how can they support?

I will continue to feel into myself to bring many more deeply hidden paintings to light. In parallel, I will constantly expand my painting skills. I can also very well imagine one day to go completely into abstraction. It is also conceivable to detach the figures from my paintings and create them as sculptures. What I can say with certainty is that painting will always remain the core of my work. This is also the reason why I see myself as a painter and not an artist. Being a painter is different from being an artist. It is an indescribable privilege to serve the essence of painting. So there are still many paintings waiting to be painted. And I would love to show them sometime in Long Beach. Maybe someone in the community has an idea for me to make that happen.