Peek Inside… Carla’s Art Research Notebooks

Our Peek Inside… series takes a look inside people’s personal journals to celebrate their imagination and inspire others. Send us an email if you have a project that you would like to be featured.

This month we get an insider’s scoop into the creative and curious mind of Carla Cerejo:

I am passionate about studying and discovering new things across many subjects. What I really enjoy about this research is the nomadic directions it allows me to follow. I can conduct and take my research everywhere and let it grow, from the print and drawing room of a museum to my studio where it becomes the major inspiration source for potential art work.

The research process is a challenging experience because it can take quite a few years and it shows me so many aspects of art and life, creating a flexible workflow. My research into the concept of “Open Work” as developed by Umberto Eco has not only brought a sense of openness to my work but has improved my personal capacity to be humble.

I wish that putting my research into words was easy and quick, but instead it is challenging. Being built up over the years, my research is complex and involves a high level of thought, hard work and time. It has been the Holy Grail that holds the secrets for understanding my art work, prints, drawings and paintings.

Writing about my work involves two sides. The first side is the one that involves going out of the studio and visiting libraries like the British Library and the print and drawing rooms of the museums (Tate Britain is my favourite). When I see a specific piece of art work in a museum, or in a print and drawing room, my first thought is to write about it and how the important insights within the particular piece can possibly be reflected in my own art. For this reason my creations are flexible and permeable across many subjects.

The second side of my research approach is to explore a rich variety of fields, from the prints and drawings of Edward Calvert and William Blake to the work of cinema directors like Billy Wilder to the amazing and beautiful perfection of classic Flemish art. I have decided that as long as I live my art research will never end. I am striving for it to have the same effect of rarity and infinity as the timeless pieces by the artists who inspire me.

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