10 Questions with Ruben Gonzalez Escudero

Rubén González Escudero was born in Madrid in 1979, and based in Berlin since 2007. He holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid with a specialization in New Media.

His work has been shown in different exhibitions and events in Europe, as well as in Iceland or the USA, like at Documenta 14, Manifesta 11 (Zurich), Under The Subway Video Art Night (New York), Loop (Barcelona), Performance Currency in Art Week Copenhagen (Copenhagen), FrequencySýnishorn Vídeoólistagallerí (Reykjavík), Insonora (Madrid), Museo Vostell Malpartida (Caceres) or the CTM and Transmediale Festivals (Berlin). He has been the beneficiary of grants by the Brandenburger Tor Stiftung and the Stiftung Kunstfonds, amongst many other cultural programs and foundations.

In parallel, he developed his own personal pedagogical work as an artist collaborating with the Bauhaus Archiv museum in Berlin, the international association MUS-E, as well as the Kultur Agenten program.

rubengonzalezescudero.com | @ruben_gonzalez_escudero

ARTIST STATEMENT

The work of Rubén González Escudero revolves around the concept of environment from a very broad approach, which would include not only the physical aspect but also the cultural and even technological aspects. His work examines the complexity of urban spaces, social and cultural structures, and how they interact with each other. His artistic practice includes videos, installations, performances, and different participatory strategies, making his art living and tangible.

Structure - MusciBox © Rubén González Escudero

INTERVIEW

Let's talk about yourself first. Why are you an artist, and how did you become one?

I came to art almost by accident. I have always drawn since I was little, and I have been very restless playing in various music groups or doing a local television program with my brother, but it was thanks to a cousin of mine, also an artist, that I discovered that there was a Fine Arts career and that I could study to be an artist. So, I tried the admission probes and passed it.
As the degree in Madrid was quite traditional, I often learned more in the university library and with classmates than in the classes themselves.

You work with a range of different mediums and techniques. How would you define yourself as an artist?

I am a very processual artist. Although I start from ideas, I do not consider myself a conceptual artist because, in my work, the way these ideas take shape during the process is a fundamental part of the final work.

What is your creative process like? How do you choose which medium to work with for a certain project? And how do you go from the first idea to the final outcome?

I usually start with a simple idea. Many times, inspiration comes to me while walking or moving by means of transport, where I try to avoid my cell phone and look at what is happening around me. The medium usually dictates to me the best way to transmit what I want, trying different approaches. Sometimes, in this trial-error process, happy accidents appear that open unexpected paths in my work.

In your statement, you mention the concept of environment as the main focus of your work. What messages are you trying to communicate with your art? And what do you think differentiates your approach from others?

Although I use the word "environment" in English or "umgebung" in German, the most accurate approximation to the concept that I mean would be "entorno" in Spanish, which refers to both the natural environment and the physical, cultural, social or even technological environment. I am very interested in how all this affects us and conditions us as subjects. In my work, I study the social element that is strongly conditioned by nature, architecture, or space in general, both physical and digital.

How do you keep your work cohesive and revolving around one theme despite applying different mediums and techniques? In other words, what are the main characteristics of your work, your personal signature?

When I started out as an artist, I was very concerned about the idea of my own style because I thought it was something that you should start from. I had many different interests (photography, drawing, video), but I soon realized that some artists did not start from a style, but arrived at it or could be recognized in their work. Like a painter who uses a type of brushstroke, personal graphic gestures, a chromatic range, or themes, as an artist, you constantly use specific resources and interests. In my case, the rhythm, the repetition, the themes, the way I approach them, and the media I use are repeated, and patterns that can be connected and read in my different works are marked.

The climate crisis is increasing every day, and yet we see very small actions taken to mitigate our impact on the environment. What do you think is the role of art in addressing such relevant themes?

Personally, I do not believe that art "has" to have a utility outside of intrinsic values per se. In a market economy, it seems that everything has to have a tangible value when the value of art is mostly intangible. But on the other hand, the communicative capacity of art can be wonderful for addressing topics from a different approach than that offered by the media or social media that have different interests. Urban space often appears in my work because it fascinates me that, as animals, we have completely modified our environment and, however, on many occasions, it is more aggressive or inhospitable than in more nature-friendly environments.

How has your art evolved over the years? And what inspired you to experiment?

My initial idea of art was quite traditional, with very marked disciplines such as painting, photography, or video art. However, I immediately considered the possibility of combining these disciplines to reach more complex approaches to certain topics, where the hybridization of techniques provided extra value to the substance from the form.

You already have an impressive career, with exhibitions in different countries. What is one valuable lesson you learned over the years?

The most important lesson I have learned is to persevere. In an artistic career, there are many ups and downs. Sometimes everything flows, and you find yourself in very relevant places, and your work is highly appreciated. Other times, projects fall through, nothing comes out and you don't really know why. Being constant and not getting carried away by trends is very difficult at times, but it is the only way to maintain a coherent and interesting career in art, and if you persevere, everything will come sooner or later.

Is there anything new you are working on that you would like to share with our readers? Do you have any new projects or exhibitions coming up?

I am developing a project for which I received a scholarship last year based on a previous work in which I encoded facades of brutalist buildings in Berlin that served to absorb the worker immigration of the "German miracle" in the 70s, and I converted these facades into scores in which the Television antennas are musical notes, creating a musical composition that relates the architecture to its inhabitants in a poetic way.

And lastly, where do you see yourself and your work five years from now?

I would like to have more presence in Spain. Since I moved to Berlin, my work has been developed in Germany or in a more international context, but I barely maintain any relationship with the Spanish circuit. Apart from that, I would like to finish several ongoing projects and show them properly.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

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