Public Republic

Vanya Nikolaeva’s interview with Gerardo Gomez

Who is Gerardo Gomez?

Gerardo Gomez is a young visual artist from El Salvador, Central America, turning 20 this year. A dreamer and a rebel, with an immense passion about his art. We are starting a new century and a new millennium; things are evolving and we are looking for a positive change. I want to contribute to that goal with my paintings. Life is beautiful and this world is beautiful, too. I want to leave my mark in history of art history, just as I think every artist wants.

When did you create your first painting and what did it represent?

The first thing I have memory of was when I was probably 3 or 4 years old. I am not sure if it could be called a painting. It was on one of the walls of my house. I took a pencil, a crayon, a pen, a marker or whatever and started do draw. I drew animals, lines, geometric figures, some abstracts, and others.

The first time I did it, my mother almost killed me, but I kept drawing on that wall the next days, then my mother noticed she couldn’t stop me. I ended up painting a mural on that wall. It was like the first experience I noticed the power of imagination and the freedom it could give me.

Why are you an artist? What does art give you?

I have never wondered why I am an artist. Maybe that is the reason I am here in this world, it is the gift life gave me, my superpower, which I have to use to make good things and influence in the world we live in in a good way. Art gives me the power of communication. I prefer to use art rather than words to communicate my ideas and thoughts. Art feeds my spirit. I would rather stop eating and breathing than stop creating.

What do people say about your art? How do they like it?

I’ve noticed that people like my art very much. Some people are big fans of my artwork. They tell me that my paintings are celebration of life, that they make them feel happy and relaxed. I am saying this because when people tell me something like that or I know that I make them feel in good spirits I feel I am achieving what I want: to communicate with people through my art in a very positive way; to touch their souls and plant a seed of happiness in their hearts and to teach them something.

Your favorite painting?

If we are talking of which of my paintings is my favorite, I can not answer that. It is as if you ask a mother who of her children she loves the most. I love all my paintings the same, all of them have a very special meaning for me.

Is life an abstraction?

Life has a lot to do with reality and reality is the union of the subjective hallucinations of all of us. I do think life is an abstraction since all of us have the opportunity to see life the way we want. Some are told how life is supposed to be or the path they have to follow, others have the courage to think by themselves and see life from another point of view, sometimes better and more positive.

Anyway, life and its events can be seen from a many different points of view, but we have the power to decide which one is better for us. We must realize that we are able to create our own reality and make our lives as happy as we want them to be. It sounds very simple, so simple that some might think it is impossible, and while we stare at an abstract painting, lets see colors, patterns, forms that we like the most, no matter how simple or small they are.

What do you dream of?

I have that dream I think we all have at some point of our lives: to change the world. It might sound irrational and romantic but hey, rational people adapt to the world, irrational people make the world adapt to themselves while achieving important changes. I am glad that I am crazy enough to think I can do that, maybe I won’t stop wars or feed all the people in the world (or maybe yes, who knows) but I will contribute with something and I will work hard for that.

Do you have a favorite artist?

I do have some favorite artists, not only painters, but also musicians and writers. I also write poetry. And music is a very important part of my life: I am a guitar player as well. To mention some names I am a big admirer of Basquiat, Van Gogh, Vasarely, The Beatles and many others.

If you could change something (no matter what), what would it be and why?

There are a lot of things I would love to change, like intolerance, the culture of fear, prejudices, which is at the root of unhappiness.

What inspires you?

I personally don’t believe in inspiration. I think inspiration is like a drug: if you have it, you produce; if you don’t have it, you don’t do anything. What “inspires” me or could be the equivalent of inspiration for me is to let my imagination take the control and to explore deep into myself, my own mind, experiences, memories, desires, obsessions, philosophies and messages I want to transmit to people; all that achieved by a self-produced state of mind close to meditation. (I must clarify that I don’t use any kind of drugs, a very frequently asked question that always makes me laugh). My paintings are the result of imaginative, spiritual and intellectual processes.

Your favorite place in El Salvador?

…well, I think my country is very small and everything is close by. So many landscapes, colors, beaches, lakes, volcanoes, towns, the city, forest, nature, so much things to see and you don’t have to travel very long distances to visit all those places. El Salvador is a very beautiful country to visit.

Your paintings have vivid colors. Which color is your favorite one?

This is one of the most difficult questions people ask me, I like every single color. Every color has a special meaning for me and I love them all. Every color produces a different sensation in me. I will say yellow for now, which is a very happy color and I claimed it as my favorite color when I was a little child.