Analia Saban Interview on Indechs.org

One branch of the Cultural Avenue is indechs.org; an online platform for contemporary culture.    

Biweekly Theme Weeks are created, which operate around one specific topic that feels relevant in the current cultural production. Each week starts off with an interview between Indechs and a protagonist of the particular subject, initiating a debate underlined by related posts during the week.

The eleventh Theme Week is questioning the traditional means of painting.So what constitutes a painting? Traditionally, it is the practice of applying a medium to a surface and the result of that action. Analia Saban on the other hand blurs the definition. In her artistic practice it is also paint-coated canvas etched away to form a vivid line drawing or paint cast into a shape and slung over a canvas or poured into it. The Los Angeles based, young and already highly celebrated artist simplifies painting to a core modus - a "container for paint". This week Indechs is aiming at questioning and discussing forms of painting in a broader sense by taking into account certain movements, processes and artists. The Week begins by introducing an insight into the artistic practice of Analia Saban through an exclusive interview between her and Indechs. Usually we start our interviews with: “could you tell us a little bit about your practice?” But I think we'll discuss and answer this question throughout the whole interview. To start, maybe introduce yourself briefly.About thirteen years ago, I became a university Art Student. Then, about eight years ago, I was no longer a university Art Student, so it made sense to get a new label: Artist.You studied under John Baldessari, one of the most important conceptual artists. How is his influence mirrored in your work?He has influenced several generations of artists, and I am fortunate to be in one of those generations. His influence is simple and yet difficult to pinpoint -- as a teacher John would give us one assignment: "Do whatever you want."Your method of working has been described as both artistic and scientific, always in search of the very element that makes a picture a picture. Do you complete this search each time you move on to your next project? If so, what in your opinion is this element? Or is this search in itself a never-ending project?I find pictures to be endless, at a micro- and macro-cosmic level. Sounds like a never-ending project, for me at least. My share of exploration will probably only end when my end arrives.There is a certain dismantling process of artistic production and visualization thereof that is evident in your work. You also explore the relationship between the organic and the structural. How is this translated in your work, on a technical level?I am interested in our relationship to technology, to structures, and to the architecture around us. Only with these structures do we allow our feelings to emerge: a body to love, an airplane to explore, a pencil to draw. Click here to read the complete Interview on Indechs.org