Uruguayos / Uruguayans (LI) - Rogelio Osorio (II) [Dibujo, fotografía / Drawing, Photography]

Shirley Rebuffo: How did your decision to devote yourself professionally to drawing come about?

Rogelio Osorio: You could say that it happened gradually, since my original idea was to study biology. Little by little art took a bigger and bigger place in my life and, at a certain point, the decision to dedicate myself entirely to drawing happened naturally.

SR: Tell me something about a specific master.

RO: I remember with special affection Francisco Javier Nieva, a Spanish sculptor who came to live in Uruguay in the 1950s, I think. He was quite a character, someone very special. From him I inherited my taste for classical art and he was a decisive influence for me to choose the path of Art.

SR: Tell us a little about your style: what stages have made you the artist you are, seen from that transversal thread that articulates your works?

RO: Well, the influence of classical art is very clear, especially the Renaissance period. Let's say I'm attracted to the past in general. Not from a historical point of view but rather from an emotional point of view. Those were my beginnings, now that connection is less evident. The human figure, the nude, has been another constant in my work from the beginning.

So the transversal thread you ask me about could be the human body and the nostalgia of the past.

SR: The Renaissance character of your works demonstrates a mastery of technique, an aspect that many leave aside. What is your creative process like? Do you draw inspiration from something or someone to create?

RO: Yes, it may look like I have some technical mastery, but I'm not really a virtuoso at all. I am constantly changing direction and I try to make those hesitations part of the final work, as an exercise in honesty; I want the whole process to be on display. In this way the "mistakes" also build. Many times I arrive at a drawing that is correct, but also predictable, boring; then I pour water on it or destroy part of it so that the unexpected emerges. It is a dangerous operation and some drawings do not survive.

For my creation process I use the artist's notebook a lot; it is the step after the conception of an idea. First I make mental sketches, I just think, then I try to visualize them by sketching them on paper. Sometimes they are just chaotic lines. When I feel that there is a project with possibilities I move on to the final surface. 

I don't like to totally define the work in the previous sketches, I prefer that there are unknowns to be solved so the drawing is nourished by the energy of the search. I choose transparent paints such as watercolor or very diluted acrylic. I don't use opaque white, the brightness comes from the base of the paper or canvas. My technique is subtractive, I remove matter so that the light appears.

The inspiration is very varied, it can be magazine clippings, experiences, sketches that I made years ago.

SR: Regarding artistic creation, does it generate pleasure or effort?

RO: It's an intense encounter, I couldn't call it pleasurable.

The pleasure comes when the process is successfully completed. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that it is a mixture of pleasure and pain.

SR: If you had to describe yourself as an artist, what adjectives would you choose?

RO: If I had to, I would try to avoid myself as much as possible.

SR: Are you worried about the transcendence of your works?

RO: Nooo, not at all.

SR: What work or works do you consider most important or representative of your career?

RO: Well, there are some "Venuses" or great sacred figures with which I identify myself quite a lot. They are archetypal, primitive goddesses. Non-existent female deities.

SR: What are your must-have materials when you get to work?

RO: My studio, of course, with my old stuff surrounding me, my reference images, AM radio, computer, coffee or tea, podcast and music to listen to, watercolor, pastel pencil, an air compressor, water, assorted drawing and painting materials, good light, a little chaos, a little order sometimes, peace and quiet if you can.

SR: Now you are devoting yourself a bit to photography, how did it come about and what future do you see in relation to it?

RO: Yes, years ago I did photography and now it has reappeared with more strength.

I started with a digital format but nowadays I use analog cameras: Contax, Pentax, Leica, Flexaret, old cameras with imperfect and very personal optics that bring a special flavor to the images.

It is a very rich process and I look at it as a protagonist and at the same time as a spectator, so I don't really know what direction it will take.

RO: Do you consider that this new proposal is part of a rupture with what came before or, on the contrary, does it have a common axis, an integrating concept?

NR: I think it is impossible to escape from oneself; so it seems to me that there must be an integration with what came before. The body as a theme is something in common in both languages. There is still that romantic look of the past and a component of controlled chance that the use of old cameras brings. What I used to achieve with water I now achieve with expired film, light leaks and other happy accidents. I have not stopped painting, but it is true that it has weakened a bit as an expressive form. It is very likely that soon I will start experimenting and merge the two languages. It would be something similar to the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi (nothing lasts, nothing is complete, nothing is perfect). A philosophy that I try to apply to art and to my daily life.