I Contain Multitudes

What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
I've been working on pencil drawings and relief prints made from woodblocks while establishing a studio in Barcelona. We lived in Los Angeles for eight years, and now we are on the other side of the world, so we are trying to balance rebuilding the studio with working on projects that interest us.

What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on them?
I enjoy the process very much—sitting at the table and listening to music while filling the page with vibrant color.

What words, ideas or emotions were going through your head?
These specific works—the pencil drawings and the woodblocks—carry more texture. They are more labor-intensive and require patience, repetition, and resilience. I'm learning about the subtleties of materials and about myself, and how the work I am doing changes me.

Were there any conversations, movies, music, or books that made their way into that work?
I'm always reading something or watching films. I watched The Life of Chuck (a beautiful film, by the way), and it has a phrase somewhere in it: “I contain multitudes.” I wasn’t familiar with the poet who wrote it, Walt Whitman, so I’ve been reading about that—poems about nature, the human condition, and life. Big topics while I’m working on these small drawings.

What's been the most difficult thing you've faced recently in your creative process?
Moving to Barcelona was tough. Your life is turned upside down, and every day requires you to rebuild a completely different part of your life in a new country. Right now, I would say that finding a rhythm between work and life has been the hardest part.

What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
I like food too much to have just one favorite restaurant. I love Gran Dabbang in Buenos Aires—an amazing place led by a small team and the incredible chef Mariano Ramón. He mixes Asian cuisine with local products in a very peculiar way. It’s creative, fun, always new, and has such a strong sense of identity.

If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
I think it would be very upbeat, funny, and a bit random—something like Everything, Everywhere All at Once.

Recommend one or more artists you follow who inspire you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
I'm really enjoying the work of Phillipe Weisbecker. He has a very technical approach to drawing, and at the same time, it feels so playful. I like that mix of high and low.