10 Questions with Artist Name

Gaspar Marquez was born in Mexico. He's a self-taught photographer but took plenty of classes at prestigious schools such as the School of The International Center of Photography and The School of Visual Arts in New York City, not to mention he's got a BA in Business Administration in Mexico.

He's working as a Freelance photographer/Videographer doing Fine Art /Fashion & Lifestyle. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

gasparmarquezfineart.com | @gasparmarquezpixels

ARTIST STATEMENT

He experiments with the Figure form. His work is a celebration of film photography, movement, Cubism, and scale.

After developing his first photos in the darkroom, he fell in love with the photographic contact sheet as a whole image and decided to honor this process by adding his own personal twist to the classic recipe. These images belong to a series called The Bodyscapes. His unique artistic style is an expression of creating images in an almost mathematical way, dissecting the subject aesthetics piece by piece, somehow creating an illusion of movement as a consequence of the 35 or more shots taken in the making of the "contact sheet". Therefore, these images all together are seen as a whole and allow the viewer to witness an almost life-size 2D sculpture in a Neo-Cubism fashion.

The major motivation of his work is to explore the relation-limits between all these elements: film photography, movement, scale, and figure. He attempts to blur these lines, mixing them up and creating an ambiguous vibration or optical illusion between a 2D image and the audience.

Sunny-Day, Archival Digital C-Print, 40x48, 2012 © Gaspar Marquez

INTERVIEW

When and how did you start getting involved with photography?

As far as I can remember, I have been drawn to photography ever since I was a kid. I wanted to have a camera in my hands and take photos. I mean, just clicking the camera was such a cool thing to do. So when I was like 7 y.o. or something, I would take my mom's camera, a 110mm camera, and I would just shoot stuff for fun; I mean I would compose and click. My mom had lots of Fashion and lifestyle magazines in her room, and I would look at the photos and think, I can do better photos than that!

What is for you the most challenging part of your work?

I guess the most challenging part of my work is when it comes down to shooting and composing the contact sheets in my mind, I mean, I have an idea of what I want to do, but every photo shoot is different in terms of space and time limitations, not to mention the model, the circumstances and the technical logistics. So having said so, it's pretty much about dissecting and putting together the composition(s) in the shoot.

ANNA, Archival Digital C-Print, 40x21, 2016 © Gaspar Marquez

Woman Lying On Bed, Archival Digital C-Prrint, 40x20, 2018 © Gaspar Marquez

Let's talk about your photographs. How do you choose the subjects to shoot?

I guess it takes two to Tango. Pretty much everything is online nowadays, but I still approach people in person. It all comes together naturally. It's an organic process that happens when all the elements and the time are right. Some models get excited when they see I'm about to shoot Film or Polaroids, and some others think it's pretty cool or don't fully understand what I'm doing, but they've seen my work before and trust and enjoy the process.

Where do you find inspiration for your work and what is your creative process like?

Inspiration comes to me in different ways, sometimes through a dream, movie, music, podcast, comics, photos, Museum, during a thunderstorm, meditation, on the busy streets of New York City, in the shower, or something. Regarding my creative process, the final photograph is the ultimate goal, so once I see it in my mind, I might do a quick sketch or a pdf of images with all the elements I'm looking for. I then start deconstructing everything from top to bottom, kind of reverse engineering per se, until I am putting together all the logistics, like all the crew involved in the shoot and/or assistants, models, production costs, and even wardrobe, food, and hotel costs, travel tickets, etc. I really enjoy the creative process; it's something that's part of the final outcome. It couldn't be done without it.

Woman Chewing Gum, Archival Digital C-Print, 40x48, 2013 © Gaspar Marquez

You mostly work with Nude photography. Why did you choose it and what does it represent for you?

I believe Nudity in Art is always being celebrated and documented throughout the years. There are even petroglyphs of the human body ever since the beginning of the human race on Earth.
Personally, I experiment with the Nude Female Figure. I experiment with the nude female body because it is the source of my inspiration, I love to contemplate its form, and my mission is to capture and interpret her beauty, imperfections, essence, character, and soul. I always felt the need to photograph it, and I am convinced that I unconsciously wanted to freeze the female beauty in eternity. My unique artistic style is an expression of creating images in a nonlinear, almost mathematical way or in the context of a series, dissecting her aesthetics piece by piece.
Photography is the medium of my choice, but as a kid, I was attracted to painting: especially Surrealism, Cubism, and Expressionism.

How would you define your style?

I like to think my style is Edgy, provocative, young, fresh, and a bit Erotic with elegance and class, though.

And how has it evolved over the years?

It's definitely getting more serious and more Professional. My vision is expanding, and I'm not only daring to explore different territories within the genre of Fine Art Nude Photography, but I'm reaching out to open new doors and discover new horizons in the Photography field and Video nowadays.

What do you hope that the public takes away from your work?

I would like them to really enjoy and take their time to observe my work and let themselves go in my world. My work is a tangible illusion on paper. The major motivation of my work is to explore the relation-limits between all these elements: film photography, movement, scale, and figure form. I attempt to blur these lines, mixing them up and, as a result creating an ambiguous vibration or optical illusion between a 2D image and the audience.

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future in terms of new projects?

I keep myself working on my vision and some side projects I have in mind. I would like to make a Book in the next couple of years or so and venture more into Video Art.

Woman with Sneakers, Archival Digital C-Print, 40x48 in, 2010 © Gaspar Marquez

Do you have any upcoming shows or collaborations you are looking forward to?

Oh yes, I'm having my work shown at The International Photography Hall of Fame Photo Contest Fall 2022 from Dec 7, 2022, to Feb 11, 2023, in St. Louis, MO. Also, I'm part of a Group show on Dec 9th & 10th at The Black & White Gallery at One art Space here in Manhattan. And I'm looking forward to reaching out to new markets around the globe. It's time to take my work on a trip overseas or somewhere else. So if you happen to be reading this and you're a curator, let's talk and set something up.

Finally, share something you would like the world to know about you?

I am a self-taught photographer, but I took lots of classes at prestigious Photography schools here in New York City, like ICP and SVA, not to mention I was a TA at ICP for years, and believe it or not, I got a BA in Business Administration too. I was born and raised in Mexico, but I am based in Brooklyn, NY. My favorite color is Navy Blue, and my number is 13.

Related Interviews