Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marco Beria. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marco, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I have always been involved in the creative arts. Today, as a painter, I keep my creativity alive by exposing myself to many inspirational sources, such as music, books, films, theater, museums and galleries. However, my creative life really began during my four years of studying theater at The National School of Theater in Caracas, Venezuela. Prior to that, it was very difficult for me to focus my creative energy due to my hyperactive nature. I remember that, as a teenager, my mother required me to take painting lessons, and I have been painting ever since. After graduation, I worked professionally as an actor in Caracas. In 1982, I received a national scholarship to study Film Production in NYC. Right after graduation, I started working as a producer for Children Television Workshop (“Sesame Street”). Since my nature has always been that of a functionally hyperactive person, I became a consummate creative, multitasker: performing theater, working as a TV producer, painting, teaching, and even creating perfumes, a personal passion of mine. From NYC, I moved to Miami Beach in 2012 and there I was able to concentrate primarily in painting, and this has continued until today in Valencia, Spain. I would like to add a very significant factor of my overall life and that is the fact that I was able to overcome many obstacles in my life due to my Buddhist practice, which allows me to concentrate on maintaining my goals in life.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
After many years of being a multidisciplinary artist, working in theater, film, and television production, along with painting, I have spent the last 10 years or so focusing my creative energy more exclusively on painting. I intend to not only explore my vision as an artist, but also to increase the production of my current artwork in order to market it to a European audience. My goal is to create both a virtual presence for my artwork and to partner with galleries and museums throughout Europe.
As a result of my recent move to Spain from the USA, I feel very excited and motivated by the abundance of diverse cultures and forms of artistic expression that one finds on this continent. I feel like my new life will bring added inspiration to my creative process.
In terms of my art, I have been ideologically influenced primarily by the Dadaist movement from which I gained a surrealistic vision. My earlier work explored themes of nature and metamorphosis. Later, I began to apply concepts of kinetic forms to my paintings, creating movement and often a kaleidoscopic effect.
My current work focuses on a more geometrically abstract, yet organic approach, utilizing atmospheric and natural elements. For example, I have sought to express the changing of the four seasons solely through the use of color and vertical lines.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
First, it was important for me to acquire the fundamental skills necessary to be a visual artist. Second, it is essential for an artist to maintain a certain degree of discipline and commitment to his or her work, qualities I believe I have achieved to a greater degree more recently in my life. Finally, an artist has to have a strong desire to create something that will have an impact of some kind on the viewer. I have had this desire nearly all my life.
I would advise someone who is in the art to believe in what you love and in what you do, to have an unwavering determination to succeed. These qualities will allow you to overcome all the obstacles that may come your way.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
I would say that the person who has been the most helpful in my career as an artist is my husband. It has been 40 years of continuous support from him at every level imaginable, from working in my film/theater productions, and helping to mount my art exhibitions, to handling whatever technological issues I confronted in all of these areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marcoberia.com
- Instagram: Marco Beria
