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    Nazara Lázaro

    Nazara Lázaro

    1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

    I am from Spain. I was born in Tenerife, the Canary Islands, but I am currently based in Berlin, Germany.

    2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

    My aunt had a contemporary art gallery focused on artists from the Canary Islands.

    As a child I was always fascinated when I visited her at the gallery.

    3. Have you always worked in the art/design field ?

    Yes. I studied interior design and from the very beginning I always did something connected to design, like graphic and web design, or exhibition design for art galleries.

    4. What led you to the design creation ?

    The need for expressing myself with complete freedom.

    5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

    If I am creating a new collection, I first spend some time analyzing things that inspire me, I get a lot of inspiration from contemporary art. I then gather images and create collages. After that I start making sketches and 3Ds, lots of them. At the end I collect what I like the most and save the rest for future research.

    6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

    I usually start by answering emails, and then write down all the things that I need to do that day. I would then try to do the one thing I enjoy the least, and then the rest, but if I get stuck on something, I put it aside and continue. This is my ideal workflow, but it’s not always like this.

    7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

    I have two collections, the first one in wood and the second one in metal. I want to explore a new material in each collection, so it might be that I use ceramic in the next one, or fabric. I am still exploring.

    8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

    It depends on the collection. Each collection has a different concept and a different technical execution. The Crooked Collection was about asymmetries, so the pieces were designed using irregular angles. The Steel Collection was about playfulness, and each piece was born from the combination of several geometric figures.

    9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

    To get to know very well the market they want to get into, and honestly, not to expect earning almost anything in the first years.

    10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

    I don’t know, maybe some kind of “playful minimalism”?

    11. What designers have influenced you ?

    Mostly artists and architects like Donald Judd, Luis Barragán, César Manrique, Charlotte Perriand or Le Corbusier.

    12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

    Max Lamb, Faye Toogood, Ana Kras, Andrea Zittel or Waka Waka are some of my favourite contemporary designers.

    13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

    Lately JB.Blunk, Valentine Schlegel and Isamu Noguchi.

    14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

    Honest and playful experimentation.

    Proust Questionnaire with very short answers (one or a few words) :
    (The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust. Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)

    1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

    Being in peace with myself and with the world.

    2. What is your greatest fear?

    Not finding peace.

    3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

    Indecision.

    4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

    Lack of empathy.

    5. Which living person do you most admire?

    My Japanese friend Takayuki Watanabe.

    6. What is your greatest extravagance?

    Collecting art pieces from flea markets.

    7. What is your current state of mind?

    Uneasy.

    8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

    Success.

    9. What is the quality you most like in a man ?

    Sensitivity and empathy.

    10. What is the quality you most like in a woman ?

    Same as in a man.

    11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

    “I don’t know why”

    12. Which talent would you most like to have?

    Good communication skills.

    13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

    Being more confident about myself and my work.

    14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

    Finding balance.

    15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

    I would try being an artist in my next life.

    16. Where would you most like to live?

    In a warm place close to the sea

    17. What is your most treasured possession?

    Takayuki Watanabe’s pottery.

    18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

    Emptiness and loneliness.

    19. What is your favorite occupation?

    Listening to the radio.

    20. What is your most marked characteristic?

    Being an idealist, a dreamer.

    21. What do you most value in your friends?

    Just being there.

    22. Who are your favorite writers?

    I like Japanese authors like Hiromi Kawakami or Junichiro Tanizaki.

    23. Who is your hero of fiction?

    Don Quixote.

    24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

    Some female product designer from the 20th century, like Anni Albers, Charlotte Perriand or Clara Porset.

    25. Who are your heroes in real life?

    Traditional artisans.

    26. What are your favorite names?

    Short names like Nuno or Ame.

    27. What is it that you most dislike?

    Intolerance, selfishness.

    28. What is your greatest regret?

    Moving to Madrid instead of Barcelona when I was 18.

    29. How would you like to die?

    Of old age?

    30. What is your motto?

    Happiness is overrated, balance is the key.

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