Interview with Carlota Sarvise
How did you start painting the horses?
Since I was little I have been painting horses because they have always been my passion, but the minimalist watercolors with which I began to move in the art world emerged 7 years ago. It was a curious anecdote. I had to congratulate a friend, because it was her birthday and I didn´t arrived in time to deliver it in person, because I lived far from her.
So I decided to do a painting of a horse, but quickly, I didn't have time. She loved horses and that night I made a small watercolor of a galloping Arabian horse. And the result surprised me aesthetically. I saw that it was an open way to new possibilities. So I start to focus my work towards minimalism and movement. In looking for the maximum expression of the horse with the minimum possible strokes.
What attracts you to the polo image?
The polo on an aesthetic level seems spectacular to me. Polo horses have a beautiful line, they are true athletes. The long neck, the slender body, and the strong quarters and limbs. In the same way that the rider has a lot of elasticity in the movements of hitting with the cue to the ball. The binomial in the game is a stamp that conveys beauty, speed and strength.
I love spending time painting them because there is so much explosiveness and color in them. Being a team, it allows painting several horses and players in play, in complex and elastic positions, which are what make watercolors their greatest attraction.
Who are your favorite artists who do you inspire for your art?
There are many artists who inspire me. Although the style is not alike, I am very attracted to Hopper's work. Edward Hopper is an artist that I like to nurture by seeing his paintings. In a certain way, I see in his work a minimalism in shapes, simple and straight, and a unique color range, taking you to the scenes of those years.
Another reference is Degas, in his famous horse racing paintings, in which the artist shows a study of forms, movement and color brilliance. His paintings also play with a different frame from the traditional one, marking his style. Current artists are many that I like. Take, for example, an American artist Peggy Judy, who sketches Far West scenes, with traditional motifs of loose cattle, working with horses, and everyday scenes. I like the way she has of solving the work without being completely defined, many times like "she has half painted" and the chromatic range of browns, earths and ocher that attracts me so much.
In the field of sculpture one of the references is Alberto Giacometti. I had the opportunity to see his pieces live and I was surprised by the lightness and balance of his men. Although the background of his work is hard, they are beautiful and slender figures, with a plasticity that makes them representative of his art. They denote character and strength despite their weakness.
You also paint murals and make bronze sculptures. Tell to us please a little about your technique, how you came to do the works technically so different, which is more difficult and interesting in each technique.
In addition to minimalist watercolors, I do wall paintings. I am dedicated to interior design and one of the pillars of my work is try to make personalized spaces, trying to find unique pieces and decorations suitable to the client's taste. I love the world of wall paintings, especially old ones.
The technique I use is similar in aesthetics to ancient frescoes, making the spaces more welcoming and unique. The themes are diverse, from equestrian murals to landscapes, architectures or geometries. It all depends on the client's taste and the space to be decorated. Painting and in general the world of art fascinates me and I think it is a world in which you have to continually try new styles and techniques. That is why I do work with various techniques.
Another way that I wanted to try was that of sculpture. Two years ago I was lucky to meet a good sculptor and a better person, who taught me the lost wax casting technique. Bronze seems to me to be a very beautiful and noble material, ideal for equestrian figures.
In search of minimalist aesthetics in three dimensions, I made a first sculpture "Nobility" trying to capture the movement of a galloping horse, reducing his figure, and dividing it into two pieces. The following "Origin" is closer to what I am looking for, to the expression of the horse, the elegance and balance of it, with the minimum possible material.
Tell to us something about the polo triptych and that you feel that this work came out in advertising of bank and the most important polo tournament in the world.
I have always said that the horse is my life. And every day I am more aware of it. The satisfaction that the animal gives me, as well as the world that surrounds it, make my way of being. Painting horses relaxes me, lets me convey what they make me feel. Little by little, bigger and more interesting projects are emerging.
The last one was the collaboration in the ABIERTO DE POLO with HSBC bank. A polo watercolor triptych “Right Forward”, exhibited at Katerina Morgan's Horse Polo Art Gallery, was chosen to announce the HSBC bank at the 2021 Polo Open. It was an immense joy and great satisfaction to be able to represent a competition on this world scale.