By Vera Rosales
“Sea, flamenco music, UFOs, a cat with a cowboy hat on, abra creek crossing, cubism, Biggie Smalls, Mediterranean culture, Anna, siesta under a green tree, a dinner with my family, jumping fishes, Juan Gris, walking the streets of Madrid, a honest smile, Dadaism, aliens, psychedelic 70’s, native American totems, Paco de Lucia, a new stamp in my passport, tribes, skating the streets of Barcelona, a handmade traffic sign.”
Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”. For Ruben Sanchez, keeping a childlike enthusiasm for art hasn’t been hard. He started painting at a very young age, expressing his sense of freedom by painting walls with colourful stories. The Spanish graffiti master sat Tempo down for an artistic repartee.
Tempo: Define Ruben Sanchez.
Ruben: A self-taught artist born and raised in Madrid, Spain. A lucky guy invited by Tashkeel to be part of their Guest Artist program in Dubai.
Tempo: You claim that you were kidnapped by graffiti and skateboarding. How so?
Ruben: When I was young, skateboarding and graffiti was a real underground thing. I had some friends doing it and I badly wanted to be one of those ‘bad boys’.
I saw freedom in it, a way of expression – I first came across the concept of community there. I felt so attracted by that new world that it was almost like a kidnapping. I stopped seeing the streets like I saw them before: every place was a spot to skate or paint on. I breathed skateboarding and spray paint 24/7. On the other hand, I was once actually kidnapped by some gypsies long time ago in Madrid. But that’s a different story…
Tempo: What is graffiti art to you?
Ruben: What a hard question! There is a lot of controversy nowadays about what is graffiti and what is street art…
To make it simple, in my opinion (which doesn’t mean it’s the right one) graffiti art is mostly done with spray paint in the streets. The graffiti culture is more complex as it involves crews, illegality, territorial marks, missions, and various styles of calligraphy among others, but that’s for a different discussion.
What is art? Art differentiates us from animals, doesn’t it? For me art is expression – it is a way to say something, it is the way your feelings find a way out. It is how your head shapes it in a specific way, such as in the form of a painting, a text, a melody.
In my opinion in order for something to be art your creative work has to have feelings in it; otherwise it would be just mere decoration.
Tempo: What inspires you?
Ruben: Sea, flamenco music, UFOs, a cat with a cowboy hat on, abra creek crossing, cubism, Biggie Smalls, Mediterranean culture, Anna, siesta under a green tree, a dinner with my family, jumping fishes, Juan Gris, walking the streets of Madrid, a honest smile, Dadaism, aliens, psychedelic 70’s, native American totems, Paco de Lucia, a new stamp in my passport, tribes, skating the streets of Barcelona, a handmade traffic sign, etc.
Tempo: How is art in Spain different from art in the UAE?
Ruben: It’s quite shocking to see how people treat colours according to their home country. Here also, for obvious religious reasons, you have to avoid some subjects that in my country would be totally normal to see. You have to deal with some taboos. Anyway, my art has never been seen as ultra-transgressive. Commercially speaking, I see more opportunity and collectors here than in Spain, where we’re trying to get out of a crisis that has been screwing us for years. Luckily my art has very good response here too and I’m very happy that people are interested in it. It’s a good self-esteem boost.
The UAE is a country that is in a state of continuous development. It is able to invest in art as a future value; something we can see in Abu Dhabi with the Guggenheim or Louvre. It’s good to see that the UAE has targeted the art audience with new museums, galleries and art projects. Cities like Dubai have recently become interested in public art – I guess we all know how a city can improve when art is part of it.
Tempo: What would you say is your proudest moment?
Ruben: I have to thank the UAE and especially Dubai and Tashkeel for a lot of my good moments, opportunities and experiences. Let me highlight three of them so far: One, my first mural in the streets of UAE, in Jumeirah Beach Road; two, my solo-show ‘The B Side’ last year in Tashkeel; and three, my participation in Art Dubai this year.
Tempo: Are graffiti artists perceived as outlaws?
Ruben: As I said before, graffiti is not the same as street art. What I do today is considered street art. I come from a graffiti background, which is quite different due to the issues relating to territoriality, rules, tags, bombing, style wars. Graffiti is always illegal, and if it isn’t, it is not graffiti. So you can imagine, whenever you do illegal things you get used to getting in trouble. Whenever I was, I used to run faster 😉
Tempo: Walk us through your typical day.
Ruben: *Ring ring* alarm, homemade espresso and big breakfast with healthy things. Maybe meeting somewhere or doing a specific project (mural, etc). If not, I would go straight to Tashkeel. Once there you never know. I might be cutting wood, or finishing a canvas, or painting some vases, or thinking what to do with some ostrich eggs or deer horns, doing a graffiti workshop or some digital illustrations in the computer. We always interact with each other; we are family, so it’s easy to get involved in another artist’s project by helping with something.
Lunch, more coffee, more studio time. Some off road driving back home, and skateboarding if possible. If I had a long day at the studio I might meet a friend to chill somewhere or just at home playing guitar, watching a movie, skyping with my beloved ones or doing absolutely nothing. But I always end up replying to emails, sketching, and doing things that I couldn’t do at the studio.
Tempo: What future projects should we look forward to?
Ruben: There are some exciting things on the table for now, but they are still to be developed and confirmed. For now I can say that I am doing my best to get my characters out of the canvas in the shape of large-scale sculptures and interactive installations. And there are also some interesting collaborations with performing artists. Let’s cross our fingers!
Tempo: Do you have a message to aspiring artists?
Ruben: Be true to yourself, don’t try to impress anyone, and don’t try to impress yourself. Don’t give up, don’t be lazy and don’t let anything stop you. If you work hard, the rest will come.
Get in touch with Ruben: www.iamrubensanchez.com
