In Conversation With Bea Ladrón de Guevara
Your work engages deeply with material and process, where materials feel central rather than secondary. How do your chosen materials and techniques influence the way you construct meaning in your work? How does the physical act of making shape the final outcome?
Material and process are foundational to my practice. They are a crucial point from which meaning emerges rather than tools for representation. I work primarily with natural materials such as mineral earth pigments and botanical inks that I often forage and process myself.
The act of gathering these materials outdoors is slow and deepens my attention to the landscape, often allowing me to connect with myself on a more profound level as well.
Can you walk us through your creative process? What inspires you to begin a new piece or project, and how does that initial idea evolve as you work?
My creative process does not begin on the canvas, but in connecting deeply with my body and surroundings. From there, the materials themselves become the vehicle that guide the work organically, creating a dialogue between medium, movement, and momentum.
Rather than striving for control, I allow my intuition to take the lead, embracing uncertainty and letting the work to remain open.
How do you hope viewers connect with these themes through your work?
I hope viewers encounter the paintings in a quiet, contemplative way, inviting a moment of stillness and reflection on their own physical and inner selves. Understanding all the concepts that run through my work is not essential or necessary, but I invite the viewer to approach it with curiosity and an open mind.
Are there specific artists or influences that have shaped the way you approach material and making? Who are they?
Some of the artists that have deeply informed my work in various ways are Lee Ufan, particulary his philosophy & conceptual work.
Anish Kapoor and his aproach to materials. Olafur Eliasson and his experimental spirit with natural elements. Isamu Noguchi's sensibility in sculpture. Constantin Brancusi and his maestry of reducing form to its essence, and James Turrell with his explorations of light and space as a pathway to consciousness and the sublime.
Strata brings together two female artists whose practices are rooted in material exploration and intimate crafting. For both Bea Ladrón de Guevara and Meagan Cignoli, materials are not secondary, they are central to meaning. Bea works through the slow, ritual process of creating her own pigments, while Meagan explores a wide range of fragile, tactile materials, allowing change, imperfection, and ephemerality to remain visible. Their works share a deeply personal, inward-looking approach to creation, one that values softness, presence, and intuition.