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Lot Essay
Angela de la Cruz in Conversation with Dominic Hourd
Dominic Hourd: The work you have donated to The Eve Appeal is a great example of the ‘re-use’ of materials to create a unique new work. Do you see it as a form of recycling work or is it simply an element of your creativity?
Angela de la Cruz: It’s an element of my work. I recycle a lot of my work – I always have. That’s why I use similar sizes, colours and materials, so I can re-appropriate elements for new works.
DH: Your work has always been three dimensional, do you see yourself as a painter, a sculptor, both or simply an artist?
AdlC: I am a painter who does sculpture, and a sculptor who makes paintings.
DH: One of your new works in your studio includes tracks physically made by you and your wheelchair on a wet painting; a very powerful and personal touch. Was this a light bulb moment?
AdlC: It was a development of my language. I always use what is around me at the time, and the wheelchair is where I am sitting all the time so I used it in my work. It’s not the first time I have used the wheelchair for mark making.
DH: I know humour is an integral part of your personality; does this play a part of your creativity? Some of your work hints at being mischievous.
AdlC: I think humour is a very important part of my work. I am a big fan of humour, especially the films of Jacques Tati, Luis Buñuel… Film plays a big part in my work. I am quite a film addict!
DH: You now use assistants in your studio to carry out the physical process of creating your work. Can they keep up with your creativity?
Yes – of course. That’s why the people that work for me are very good artists in their own right, and very intelligent. It’s very important for me that my assistants understand my work. I have always worked with people, even before, it’s a part of my practice like a lot of conceptual artists.
DH: After your stroke, much of your work between 2006 and 2010 involved broken or crumpled canvases, but your current work is less damaged and more whole. Do you feel more complete/whole as a person?
I act like more of a director now because I don’t make the work myself physically. The progression of the work to become more shiny and clean is to do with this detachment, but it is also a symptom of a different kind of strength – they are calm but tough at the same time.
I always was a very hands-on person, and I still am but now I work in a different way.
DH: While researching for this auction, I was shocked at how male dominated the art world is, particularly with regards to gallery representation and the secondary market. Are you conscious of the fact that women are still a minority in the art world?
I am very conscious that women are treated very differently – they get paid less, their work is valued lower. At the moment they are discovering the “old ladies” of the art world – but they have always been there. I find the art world a very male dominated world, even in the most successful galleries there are very few women.
DH: Are there any female artists whose work currently interests you?
Carmen Herrera, Sarah Lucas, Ceal Floyer, Eva Rothchild, Phyllida Barlow, Tomoko Takahasi, Doris Salcedo, Jane Simpson, Fiona Banner, Allison Turnbull, Georgina Starr, Maria Lassnig, Marlene Dumas, AK Dolven, Wilson Twins, Mary Hurrell, Tomma Abts, Ellen Cantor, Shirazeh Houshiary, Paola Pivi, Mania Akbari, Janice Kerbel, Tacita Dean…
Dominic Hourd: The work you have donated to The Eve Appeal is a great example of the ‘re-use’ of materials to create a unique new work. Do you see it as a form of recycling work or is it simply an element of your creativity?
Angela de la Cruz: It’s an element of my work. I recycle a lot of my work – I always have. That’s why I use similar sizes, colours and materials, so I can re-appropriate elements for new works.
DH: Your work has always been three dimensional, do you see yourself as a painter, a sculptor, both or simply an artist?
AdlC: I am a painter who does sculpture, and a sculptor who makes paintings.
DH: One of your new works in your studio includes tracks physically made by you and your wheelchair on a wet painting; a very powerful and personal touch. Was this a light bulb moment?
AdlC: It was a development of my language. I always use what is around me at the time, and the wheelchair is where I am sitting all the time so I used it in my work. It’s not the first time I have used the wheelchair for mark making.
DH: I know humour is an integral part of your personality; does this play a part of your creativity? Some of your work hints at being mischievous.
AdlC: I think humour is a very important part of my work. I am a big fan of humour, especially the films of Jacques Tati, Luis Buñuel… Film plays a big part in my work. I am quite a film addict!
DH: You now use assistants in your studio to carry out the physical process of creating your work. Can they keep up with your creativity?
Yes – of course. That’s why the people that work for me are very good artists in their own right, and very intelligent. It’s very important for me that my assistants understand my work. I have always worked with people, even before, it’s a part of my practice like a lot of conceptual artists.
DH: After your stroke, much of your work between 2006 and 2010 involved broken or crumpled canvases, but your current work is less damaged and more whole. Do you feel more complete/whole as a person?
I act like more of a director now because I don’t make the work myself physically. The progression of the work to become more shiny and clean is to do with this detachment, but it is also a symptom of a different kind of strength – they are calm but tough at the same time.
I always was a very hands-on person, and I still am but now I work in a different way.
DH: While researching for this auction, I was shocked at how male dominated the art world is, particularly with regards to gallery representation and the secondary market. Are you conscious of the fact that women are still a minority in the art world?
I am very conscious that women are treated very differently – they get paid less, their work is valued lower. At the moment they are discovering the “old ladies” of the art world – but they have always been there. I find the art world a very male dominated world, even in the most successful galleries there are very few women.
DH: Are there any female artists whose work currently interests you?
Carmen Herrera, Sarah Lucas, Ceal Floyer, Eva Rothchild, Phyllida Barlow, Tomoko Takahasi, Doris Salcedo, Jane Simpson, Fiona Banner, Allison Turnbull, Georgina Starr, Maria Lassnig, Marlene Dumas, AK Dolven, Wilson Twins, Mary Hurrell, Tomma Abts, Ellen Cantor, Shirazeh Houshiary, Paola Pivi, Mania Akbari, Janice Kerbel, Tacita Dean…