Born in Los Angeles in 1982, Diego Gutierrez currently lives and works in Miami. He received his BFA from Cal State Fullerton in 2009 and a MFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. Gutierrez’s work has been included in multiple group exhibitions including Welcome to Miami at The Fountainhead Residency, Miami, Doers Doingat Gesamtkunst Werkshop, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Spheres of Meaning: An Exhibition of Artists’ Books at the Frost Art Museum. Gutierrez is a studio resident at Oolite Arts.
Briefly share your story. When did you know you were a painter?
I grew up in Los Angeles and later moved to Downey, CA. I knew I wanted to be a painter when I took my first art history class from my local community college. For some reason, I jumped right into the contemporary art history course, and it was life-changing. I wanted to have a small part in art history, too, and I began to take art more seriously. I enrolled in many different courses, and I found painting to be the medium I was most interested in, not only because of the material but also because of its long history.
What inspires your current work? What do you think about most when creating?
I approach my work with a basic painter's idea of deconstruction and reconstruction, but I don't stop at the Image. I move on to the material, surface, structure, studio, concepts, influences, and so on. Deconstructing and investigating in a wide scope. I try to analyze how art is functioning. Sometimes the ambitions I have for painting are not matching the realities of the painting as an object. Being honest with myself throughout the process of creating is what drives the work. If a painting isn't working due to a disconnection between material and concept, or Image and concept then I have to address that. But I don't see that as a bad thing, it's good when I don't like the way my painting is functioning. It's good because I love investigating and having a malleable process. I've learned that improvisation and adaptation help solve a lot of issues.
What themes or ideas does your current exhibition at Oolite explore?
When I got the opportunity to show at Oolite, I settled on having it be a representation of how painting has morphed throughout my life. You see it change throughout art history, and I believe it's the ability to adapt, is the reason why it's survived for so long. For me, painting has always been by my side, and this was the chance to mark different moments when it did just that.
It was interesting for me because I have been making my new work with the mindset that the function of painting has changed. This is due to it not being able to inform or motivate a large audience. Especially if you compare it to other mediums or even general technology (internet, radio, television). I don't think it's a bad thing, I find this liberating. If the audience is small, then we (painters) don't have to worry about inclusive concepts that are trying to solve cultural issues or inform a large population. We can make painting more direct to the function we place on it because our audience is more specific. We can blur languages and deconstruct our own practice, and our audience will understand. This, too, was something I wanted to try out with my show. I wanted to blur and deconstruct the 3 moments in my life where painting changed. Have those 3 moments be the influence of how the specific Miami art audience interacts with painting.
What are you most proud of in your career as an artist so far?
To be honest, I don't like creating a hierarchy. Part of it is because I want to be present and enjoy every moment. Also, it's because I'm proud of everything, from the little moments in my studio to the researching and even brainstorming while I'm working in my day job. Everything plays a role, and if something was out of place, then the art would be different.
Also, I naturally worry about everything, so I try not to think about important things. Otherwise, I'll overthink things, and my confidence will drop. I just deal with things as they come and let go of them when they are done. I treat everything the same way as I do my paintings.
Share a few contemporary artists that you are excited about right now.
I enjoy people that take some sort of risk in their practice but also dive deep into the investigation. Brian Bellot, Kai Althoff, Laura Owens, Nicole Eisenman, Rashid Johnson, Chris Martin, Chris Ofili, Jana Euler, Rebecca Morris, Keltie Ferris, Cordy Ryman. But most importantly, the artist that I have direct contact with and have influenced me in some way or another; Nabila Santa Cristo, Hagop Najarian, Justin Micah Jacobson, Rafael Vega, and Craig Butterworth.
On view
Jan. 22 – April 5, 2020 at Oolite Arts
