NAME:
Tomas Barcelo.

OCCUPATION:
Sculptor.

WHERE YOU WERE BORN:
Mallorca, Spain.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS:
Christian, Sculptor, Trying.

AT WHAT AGE DID YOU KNOW YOU WOULD BE A SCULPTOR :
At 21, I realized I had been a sculptor since childhood.

WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU USE :
Clay, plaster, resin, and treasures disguised as trash.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF YOUR JOB :
Transforming matter into mystery and making someone care about it.

ARE THERE DAYS YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO TO THE STUDIO:
Only when it’s too hot. If I don’t go, it’s usually because the world insists I be somewhere else.

ARE THERE PIECES YOU WOULD NEVER SELL :
Yes. I try to keep one piece from each series. And The Woman in Blue, she’s a milestone. She’ll always have a place of honor in my home.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTIC HEROES :
Most of my artistic heroes are anonymous and dead. But among the moderns, I’m lucky to admire and know artists like J.S. Jassans, Joan Rebull, Sandra Arteaga, Grimalt, Monès, Luděk Burian and a few brilliant souls behind music and movies.

IF YOU COULD SPEND A DAY WITH ANY ARTIST ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE :
The unknown sculptor of the Green Head of Berlin. I’d bring a translator and probably a notebook full of questions.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE GALLERY :
I’ve never really thought about having a favorite gallery.

YOUR THOUGHTS ON AI AND ART :
AI in art is inevitable, for better and worse. Looking back at what happened with photography in the 19th century gives me hope. Art bloomed then, and I believe it will again. The future of art might be brighter than we think.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF BEING AN ARTIST :
Juggling personal life, creativity, and survival. I believe it was easier when artists worked in workshops, not alone. The 19th-century myth of the solitary genius is exhausting.

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY :
Maybe the moment I learned the word “cloud” from my mother, watching the sky together from our terrace.

WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A KID :
I grew up curious and inventive, often alone. Then came adolescence and everything got more complicated.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION :
Life, the living world around me, the company of my brothers. And God’s quiet trust.

WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE :
I’d love to say Brad Pitt, but let’s be honest, it’s probably Jack Black.

CHOOSE A SUPERPOWER :
The power to eat less and exercise more, without complaining.

WHAT IS YOUR WORST TRAIT :
I get angry too quickly. I forgive easily, but sometimes I hurt with words before I realize it.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT :
Every day worries or creative obsessions. The other night, one of my robot characters kept me awake, questioning his own theology.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT :
Turning my art into a livelihood, not just a hobby. It’s the only way to give it the effort it truly needs.

DO YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS :
Sometimes, usually in Spanish, and mostly about current events or scientific discoveries.

WHAT’S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE :
McFlurries and Fast & Furious … but don’t tell anyone, okay?

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 4 MUSICIANS / BANDS :
I listen to a lot of music, very eclectic, but I’m especially drawn to those who blend something ancient and traditional with a contemporary sensitivity: Christina Pluhar, Oni Wytars, Kapsberger Ensemble… that kind of sound.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING YOU EVER STOLE :
The time of people better than me, which is most people, to be honest.

YOU ARE HEADING TO THE ISS / INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, CHOOSE 4 PEOPLE TO TAKE A LONG :
Bárbara, my partner; my brother, because he’d love it; and Carl Sagan as a guide.

WHAT WOULD A PERFECT DAY FOR YOU LOOK LIKE :
A full day in the workshop with no commissions pending just playing freely with whatever’s at hand. Dinner at home with friends, and ending the night on the terrace with Bárbara, lying back and watching the stars.

IF YOU COULD BE FRIENDS WITH A FICTIONAL CHARACTER WHO WOULD IT BE :
I’d love to be friends with Gandalf, just to ask him about the music at the beginning of time.

PICK YOUR TOP 5 MAGAZINES :
As you’ve probably noticed by now, I’m terrible at making lists of things I like.

WHAT IS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ :
I’m reading An Inner Odyssey: The Gentle Art of Losing (and Finding) Oneself Through Creation by Moises Espino (Goblinslab), and it’s a wonder. He shares his artistic journey in such a poetic and personal way, full of honesty and truth.

WHAT WAS THE LAST GIFT YOU GAVE SOMEONE :
A catechumen’s box. Barbara and I make them together whenever a friend is baptized. A wooden box filled with objects connected to them and the ritual. It’s a beautiful and meaningful gift.

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU :
The quiet spark of wonder in ordinary things. They remind me that there’s always more than what we see.

YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION :
The warmth of Barbara’s lap at the end of the day. Wherever that happens to be.

YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE DESTINATION :
Any building with waiting rooms, numbered windows, and people clutching forms that must be filled out. Bureaucracy is my personal hell.

WHAT IS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST :
To ask forgiveness from those I’ve hurt. To create a sculpture that changes someone’s life for the better. To help people fall in love with art again, like they did when they were children. To make an altar for a church that is truly beautiful and expresses the faith of our time. To take part in a traveling show. And one day, to learn how to sing in a choir without going too far off-key.

DO YOU LIKE BEING INTERVIEWED :
Yes, especially if it’s in person with someone who truly cares about what I do and isn’t afraid to disagree.

WHAT’S THE CLOSEST YOU HAVE COME TO DEATH :
The death of my mother due to illness, and my brother’s accident. And one stupid thing I did when I was young, which I never talk about.”

IF YOU HAD A BOAT, WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED :
Valinor, maybe.

YOUR MOTTO OR MESSAGE :
Everything will work out, but not as you imagined.

artimia.co/tomasbarcelo
instagram.com/tomasbarcelocastela