Paco Alfaro is one of ArtConnect’s Artists to Watch '22

Paco Alfaro Anguita is an architect whose practice wanders around a number of different approaches to architecture: drawing, undefined-vague spaces, the regional condition of building and the possibilities of architecture on a higher scale, the city and the territory.

His drawings explore the artistic and narrative capacity of architectural drawing as a speculation of the graphic, straining the role of drawing as both a tool or an objective. He pursues to muse on the general contemporary debates that are gathered within the architectural discipline from the representation of the projects he develops as an architect.

He also reflects, researches and writes about drawing.

ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.

How did you get started as an artist?

I studied architecture at the Polytechnic School of Madrid. I was quickly captivated by the capacity of architecture to be told through drawing, as an anticipatory method of testing. In the words of the English architect and critic Robin Evans, architectural drawing - understood as a broader dimension to the sketch or plan that does not even refer only to documents, but to a way of looking at architecture - is projective: it anticipates what it intends to represent. This is what hooked me from the beginning, the possibility of approaching the architectural project through this gaze, using a free tool with which everything remains to be said.

How would you describe your artistic approach?

My practice is actually linked to the development of architectural projects. In recent years there has been a kind of hybridisation between the two, the artistic and the technical approach. Through the architectural project both spheres feed back into each other, and the questions raised by one can be answered by the other.

It is always this anticipatory thinking of the building, public space or particular object that feeds the drawings, which try to reveal intentions, ideas or specific situations. Some of these drawings have sufficient capacity to contain meaning of their own, separate from the rest of the documents that explain the project in its entirety. A meaning that transcends the project to which they belong and are capable of providing answers to overall architectural issues.

And how about what inspires you?

It is really difficult to give a solid answer to this question, especially nowadays when so much is produced and so many good practices are so easily accessible. That's why I rather get away from the screen when looking for inspiration, which is really like a moment of reflection, of conversation with oneself. Besides, the screen overwhelms me. My favourite places to be away from the screen are the “Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía” in Madrid, the “Museo de Arte Abstracto” in Cuenca or any forest where you can wander aimlessly.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an artist?

I don't let myself get too carried away by my professional ambitions and implement other passions. I am a swimming lover, which in some ways requires skills similar to those of an artist: patience, long-term vision, being methodical, discipline and above all, perseverance. I learned this from Leanne Shapton, who tells it beautifully in her book Swimming Studies.

There is also the classic paradox between being free and knowing your field. It is also one of my concerns: it is important to know the scene around you, the tendencies and, at the same time, you don't want to produce something that is not, at least in part, your own work. Some say that only with a sufficiently large number of references you might acquire your own way of facing the creative task. I'm still trying.

Describe a typical day in the studio/wherever you make your work.

It depends if the day begins in Cuenca, where I was born, or in Madrid, where I live most of the year and where I also work as an architect. Either way, the day starts with the usual: coffee, checking email or wasting some time on social media or with the latest magazine. Followed by a good few hours of deep work.

There is always a break to go swimming for 1h. To take my mind off things, to find new perspectives and to return with a new vision to the questions that were previously raised.

Cuenca is a place of escape. I always visit its forests to wander around them because visiting places I didn't know helped me to unblock certain aspects of the ongoing work that were in crisis. After more than 10 years, Madrid can no longer offer me this, but the forests of Cuenca can. For the time being.

Is there a medium, a process, or a technique that you haven't used in your work yet but would like to try out?

Photogrammetry. It is a technique that I have used, but I don't think I have managed to take it to its ultimate consequences. It is a technique of digital scanning of assets from small objects to wide areas like the interior of a cathedral or even a forest. I find it tremendously engaging because not only do you get texture in images, but also volumetric texture. Suddenly, there is the possibility of representing materials with a digital version of their own texture, which in the work I do is really interesting.

Also, this technique may not be perfect and induce certain mismatches and glitches, which I also find tremendously attractive: getting unexpected results while trying to be precise is something very inspiring from a creative point of view.

What are you currently working on? Or an upcoming project you want to mention?

I'm trying to start a publishing project with a friend. It is growing slowly so far and for the moment I can only say that one of the aims it will focus on is the link between drawing and building architecture. It might be of your interest, we will keep you posted!

There is also another project that bonds together the bobbin lace technique from northern Spain and from my own region in the center of the Iberian Penninsula and the structural lines of force, all focused on the architectural representation. I hope to show you soon, stay tuned!

How does it feel to be selected as an ArtConnect Artist to Watch?

It is a great honour that also feels like a growing chance: it's always great to connect with other circles and this is an amazing opportunity to learn from other approaches to artistic production from other disciplines, from artists also based in other parts of the world. As I said, your archive of references and loved makers are never wide enough.

Anything else you want to add?
Leave the screens any time in a while, support your local museum and/or art galleries and, of course, get out and enjoy your natural environment!

See more of Paco Alfaro’s work

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