“3 Questions for…” showcases and promotes the work of upcoming artists in the early stages of their careers. This time I would like to share with you the monochrome artworks of Pavlo Padilla.
Pavlo Padilla, born in Seville in 1997, is an emerging Andalusian artist whose work is deeply rooted in the culture and materiality of his home. After studying Fine Arts at the University of Seville, he has developed a practice that explores how natural materials shape our perception and experience of the environment we inhabit.
Padilla’s paintings are characterized by large, calm color fields, mostly in earthy, dark, and warm tones. Each work is the result of an intense engagement with the material and its origin: he gathers local substances such as olive pit ash, mineral pigments, charcoal, wax, and lime, and uses them to produce his own pigments. Working on untreated surfaces like raw linen or burlap highlights the origins of these materials.
His paintings feel like spaces of tranquility, places that speak of home and belonging. Padilla sees art less as inspiration and more as necessity – a silent form of communication and self-discovery. To learn more about his work and his process, I had the pleasure of asking him three questions:
Pavlo, what inspired you to become an artist, and how has your artistic expression evolved since then?
More than inspiration, I see it as a necessity. Since I was a little kid, I felt the urge to draw or paint without really knowing why. No one in my family is an artist, and they didn’t instill it in me. I was a sensitive child who didn’t talk much. I found in artistic expression a way to communicate without making much noise, I suppose.
Now I see it as a process of self-discovery, almost as something therapeutic and an escape from the urgency and speed of daily life. For me, it’s the freest form of expression.
How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it, and what do you hope viewers take away from it?
My work is a space of calm and reflection. It speaks of our surroundings and what “home” means to us. In my process, I research locally sourced materials from the area where I live (olive pit ashes, mineral pigment, coal, lime, and wax), currently Seville (Andalusia). This results in a slow, deliberate process that requires exploring the area, its pigments, and the artisanal creation of oil paints with them, allowing the raw material itself to take center stage.
It’s an ancient process brought into the present, although I strive for my work to be timeless and not “trendy.” I want viewers to find a place to lose themselves in when they see my art, a place that allows them to escape their problems and offers them security and stability where everything around us seems to be crumbling.
What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future? Are there any subjects that you would like to explore further?
I’m currently finishing an artist residency at ArtHub Barceló Sevilla Renacimiento, where I’m exploring the use of various characteristic materials of the city, translating them into three-dimensional installations that engage with the space. I’m also preparing several projects with Di Gallery (2 contemporary art fairs (1 in Granada and 1 in Madrid), and a solo exhibition at the end of the year).
I believe that in the future my work will continue to develop its own life and become more autonomous, interacting with itself and exploring the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and site-specific installations. Sometimes I feel that the work itself decides its path, not me, but I enjoy feeling like both spectator and creator simultaneously.
I want viewers to find a place to lose themselves in when they see my art, a place that allows them to escape their problems and offers them security and stability where everything around us seems to be crumbling.
