Rising Stars: Meet Santiago Paredes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Santiago Paredes.

Hi Santiago, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My only formal training was primarily in music; I studied various instruments and played in several bands throughout my adolescence. Eventually, the group I shared those experiences with drifted apart, and I began to find a space in painting and art where I could make every decision on my own. I simply started buying paper and a few supplies, and began trying to develop a style. I had been good at Photoshop since I was young—my father is a photographer, so it was a tool I had readily available—and it became a fundamental part of my development regarding the understanding of color and form. At first, I would simply create a sketch on the computer and try to translate it onto canvas, until I discovered methods like dye-sublimation. These allowed me to bring the exact work from my screen into the physical world without any loss in translation. That marked the beginning of a visual vocabulary that blends vector-based sensibilities with the innate “errorism” of the tangible.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like any discipline, it demands a great deal of focus and high performance; you cannot afford to rest on your laurels. Stopping is almost always the wrong choice. Even so, it is sometimes very difficult to know how to move forward without repeating yourself or becoming bored. Once you achieve a “successful” image, taking risks becomes very hard. The public already expects something from you—a certain scent or flavor they have grown accustomed to. I often think about a band’s successful debut album: the follow-up can be a leap into the unknown or simply a repeat of the previous formula. You have to strike a balance—that is the tricky part. Staying motivated and inspired is a huge part of it. Sometimes you simply open the newspaper and get swept up in a massive whirlwind—something that doesn’t belong to you, yet drags you along anyway. At other times, you see the sun reflecting off a lake and feel right at home.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work explores the poeticizing of the everyday, the construction of spaces through color, and the porous boundary between art and design. I have worked across fields such as painting, fashion, design, installation, and editorial design. I do not really see limits or separations between these areas of culture; however, I believe that painting is what defines me most—or rather, the realm where I feel most secure. That is where the core of my interest lies. I have had the opportunity to hold solo exhibitions and carry out projects in various cities around the world—including Miami, Porto, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Mexico City, and Lima—and each experience was unique. I feel that my work is both a shield and a form of currency; it serves as protection, yet it is also an avatar of sorts that I can use for exchange or communication. These experiences were deeply formative for me—arriving in a city where you know no one, with your only tool being the fruit of the union between your hands and your spirit.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Be grateful and don’t assume you’re entitled to something just because you’re good at a particular thing; nobody owes you anything. Every person you meet represents an opportunity—you can’t prejudge. You’d be surprised at the unexpected places you can end up through the most random connections, and how limiting it can be to focus only on the person you *think* is the “right” one. You have to stay open in every sense. It’s difficult; there’s a myth that every artist enters the world with a quiver containing a limited number of golden arrows. They might shoot them all while young, or as an adult, or even in old age. They might also shoot them gradually, spaced out over the years. That would be ideal, but as the saying goes, the ideal is the enemy of the good.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://santiagoparedes.work/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/santiago_._paredes/