We’re looking forward to introducing you to Diego Garcia. Check out our conversation below.
Diego , it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I feel proud of building the discipline and understanding needed to fully access my artistic intuition. When working as a freelance or independent creative the power of “no” is crucial. The crux is that to make a dent in the whole game, at first you may have to rock gigs or commissions that may not be the bag you want.
My art started working for me a bit more efficiently when I began navigating those types of projects with the notion of building my internal terms and agreements. Through that time and process I gained the managerial experience to express and advocate for my own artistic autonomy and vision.
Nobody will ever see the spiritual ups and downs of figuring out your own artistic voice. As artists we try and provide glimpses into what we are experiencing. The strength of the artists morale is what make those glimpses clearer,
It is of the upmost importance to find your own voice authentically.
That internal intuition that can’t be seen can mostly certainly be felt in the arts, I assure you.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
To whom it may concern,
My name is Diego Garcia. I have felt to arts and entertainment as far back as I can remember. I am a painter. In 2015 I hosted my first solo exhibition and I’ve had 7 more successful exhibitions since.
My artwork consists of predominately abstract expressionist techniques perhaps with a bit of a surrealist methodology. Graffiti was the first genre of art that I connected with and called to me. It influences my artistic hand to this day.
I sell original artwork, I host and curate shows and I dj. I make video material like my own art visualizers and show recaps. All just tools of the trade with the common line of creating genuine art experiences. Almost every “creative” these days all wear multiple hats, I don’t think that makes me, or anyone, unique. I guess I’d ask whomever reading this to look into my work on instagram and find whatever is unique to them about it.
I just had my eighth solo exhibition at a university in New York. The show was called “The North Star”, it was a visual journey of following the metaphorical true north, through different emotions and experiences of my life.
I am blessed and thankful for every opportunity to display my work and connect with people. Right now I am currently working on my next collections in peace. I want to world build more through multiple media formats and I am going to make merchandise of my work available. I am from New York so amidst the western lense eating itself I’d rather work in the valley of silence. I feel like the whole industry is changing so instead of rushing to put things out and flood the algorithm, I am taking this time to ensure everything on my artistic task list is done with integrity. End to end control is the goal. An authentic art experience is what it all transpires to at the end of the day…
Art that gives us as people something to feel or think about.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I feel the earliest creative moment that empowered me was this time in grade school when I made the biggest piece I’d ever done to that point. I was some time around fifth grade and my family had already taken some notice for my passion towards art. My grandparents and mother were always supportive with getting me nice packs of pencils and such things. One day my grandparents got me this poster board and some pastels, this was a game changer for me.
I was a fifth grader, and short one at that, so the poster was gigantic in my eyes. The pastels were so rich and color, they were fascinating to me. The whole experience became this right of passage I conjured up in my mind. This chance to see what I could do beyond pen and notebook paper. The drawing was this reference from an anime show I grew up watching. For those curious it was kid Goku from the Dragonball universe created by the late Akira Toriyama. If any fans of the franchise find themselves reading this, the reference was from the GT series. The show isn’t the best but the aesthetic choices made in it are legendary to me, but I digress.
I remember choosing the reference more so for the landscape scene that the character was in. Akira’s landscapes were some of my earliest memories of conceptualizing art on a boarder level. Even watching animated Disney or MGM classics I remember taking notice of certain compositions that made me feel something. I started to inspect the opacity of colors that made the layers of what I was seeing on my tv.
The piece has been lost in the world somewhere but to this day I remember it feeling like the first drawing experience where I really embodied the entire process of making art. All the practice on smaller pieces of paper, the days worth of chipping away at it, and pushing my skill level empowered me and my passion for it.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Losing my grandparents and uncle who I grew up with have defined me in a way that I am still trying to learn and understand for myself. To this day the wound of existing without them in the physical is felt, but I try to embody my ancestors and that brings me peace. A lot of our wounds may never fully heal, but I feel the ones that we can understand have the best chance of healing for good. Prayer and patience is what I tell myself, one day at a time.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
For me this whole journey of taking my art as far as it can go is to the casket. I am at peace with the labor of my life and in that peace my work has been able to grow. I have experience working with the special needs community and it has become a mission of mine to plan future exhibitions that advocate more societal integration for these individuals. We have lost the plot in a lot of ways sociologically and in my opinion the arts are the last hope in engraving some morale back into the industry and people around us. I want to create work and experiences that are for everyone, especially the communities that society frequently overlooks.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
This is a good question, the past couple years I’ve experienced fields of emotions that I haven’t ever felt so navigating it all taught me things. I create from a very raw and spiritual place which takes up more fortitude out of my being than I’ve ever realized. It has been manageable thus far but if I’m being honest, it is difficult to get into a flow state amidst what we as a human race are experiencing right now. Everything from the calamity going on in western societies to what is happening to the people and children of Gaza have made compassion fatigue a real threat to the creative soul. I know when I’m out of my own depth when I feel that compassion fatigue starting to arise.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @diegoagc
Image Credits
@eezyxe on instagram
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
