Spanish textile arist and curator Maria Ortega Galvez has featured her work in over fifty exhibitions worldwide. Her varied art covers many techniques and subjects, which often reflect on ‘human dependencies’. “[I see] thread as a means of communication, a universal language in the Art of Fiber.”

Firstly where did you grow up and where do you live now? 

I was born and raised in Madrid, the capital of Spain. But for several years I moved to London and later returned to my place of origin. 

What is your background in textiles?

My interest in textiles arose from the very beginning. In the 1980s I decided to study Textile Design, but in Spain there was no specialized school and I had to travel to Italy to be able to specialize in this discipline. 

I studied Design and Styling at the Madrid School of Design and later worked with different brands in their collections. I made theater costumes, concert sets and opened my design and haute couture workshop in Madrid: “Medium”. For 10 years I worked in my studio and at the same time I was styling designer Ángela Arregui at LA Fashion Week. 

In 1998 we moved to London, and I studied Fine Arts at Art Blake Colleges specializing in textile art, printmaking, sculpture and photography. In London, I visited galleries specializing in Fiber Art and bookstores where I found the books published by the Telos publishing house that opened up a world hitherto unknown to me. They published portfolios of textile artists and thematic books on Textile Art from different countries of the world. 

The Fiber Art and Textile Forum magazines edited by the ETN association were also a reference to investigate even more about this movement, they opened the doors for me and I got to know countless events, conferences, exhibitions and international calls for competition. 

Later I completed my studies in other artistic disciplines such as ceramics, photography, new digital techniques and cultural management. 

Since my return to Spain in 2000 I began to develop my works combining textiles with the techniques of engraving, photography and sculpture. After 21 years I have been able to be a finalist and win awards in different Biennials and Triennials nationally and internationally. 

Currently I combine my professional career as a multidisciplinary artist specialized in Fiber Art with cultural management, curating and jury of exhibitions, directing exhibitions and Biennials. 

What is it about textiles as an art form that appeals to you? 

Textile Art is imprinted in the DNA of every human being and is an artistic medium where I found one of my sources of inspiration. For me, textiles are like my second skin. I consider that Textile Art is a form of expression as well as another artistic discipline. 

Current artists have renewed their proposals in recent decades, creating an immense generation of artists who alternate the different materials with the procedures of both traditional and contemporary artistic production. Today it is becoming a means of contemporary conceptual expression that is becoming more and more relevant in the cultural world.  We have an infinity of materials and techniques that provide richness at all levels from the tactile to the visual. 

In fact, one of my main objectives is to publicize my artistic work, as well as to promote and disseminate Contemporary Textile Art, creating and generating exhibitions and cultural events related to Fiber Art to generate and exchange experiences and publicize the new generations the large number of artists who work with these techniques and materials. 

What techniques do you use? 

I use many techniques from textiles such as hand embroidery and sometimes machine embroidery, pachwork, tapestry and digital printing, merging with different non-textile techniques such as engraving, sculpture, photography, bas-relief or video art. 

In some of my works I use Haute Couture techniques such as modeling or pattern making and in others the sculptural techniques of Fine Arts. 

How do you describe your work ? 

I begin my journey in the textile world hand in hand with design, on the basis that creation in this area is not only a corporeal envelope but goes further. The search for new creative horizons is what leads me to reflect on the matter, since the beginning of a job in the field of design implied a first investigation on new fabrics and the senses that they awakened. 

The search for new creative horizons is what leads me to reflect on matter and the senses that they awaken. Hence, “textile creation” soon manifested itself as an inescapable starting point. The natural materials raffia, organza, linens, tulle, metal and others, give my work a natural presence and maintains an intense content with gray, red, black and white as a base. Bringing my gaze closer to a small world of textures and looking for a nuance for that shape. 

For some years, in my haute couture studio, I experimented on bodies and volumes, almost sculptural. All of this would become a gateway to what is now called “artwear” and art in motion .. The human being is capable of contemplating life both from the inside and from the outside. The search for the meaning of life leads me to ask myself a series of questions and search for the answers, trying to find some relief and peace. This search brings our doubts to the surface while helping us to know ourselves better and find our inner wisdom. The laws of the cosmos and nature were beyond our control and we have to understand what the limits of the human being are. Reflect and understand the meaning of existence and the meaning of life to build a world that adapts and coexists with nature and our human needs. “ 

I reflect on my work on human dependencies, which leads to works towards individuality and the study of different parts of me as a generator of experiences and feelings with an own and independent language. Highlighting the narrative capacity of the hands that my own biography recounts, the lips speak of bonds, love, passion or denounce the absence of communication, censorship, the lack of freedom and understanding. The studies on my body, torso and arms make up a story about the subtle ties that unite us to others, fusion, affection, empathy …
The personal walls and barriers that each person establishes in their own environment and on their projection and consequences in the society in which we live – distrust, fear, isolation, lack of solidarity, etc. -. The need to feed the planet. Stereotypes and prejudices perpetuate roles that always relegate women to a secondary role, which have no other reason to exist than to prolong the dominance and importance of the masculine over the feminine. 

How do you create a piece?

The first thing for me is to create a concept and then look for the process. I sketch, draw or photograph elements that I later develop in my artistic work. Materials and techniques are important for the completion of the final work. It depends if the work is two-dimensional or three-dimensional.
If the work is dimensional, I usually use drawing and photography looking for the appropriate materials, textures and techniques for each job. If it is sculptural or three-dimensional, he made a model in different dimensions according to the size of the piece to see the final result and I begin to elaborate the work incorporating the materials and techniques selected on each occasion. 

I research the materials and merge with the traditional techniques and contemporary techniques that I have at my fingertips. I use the contemporary techniques of engraving, sculpture and photographic printing with traditional techniques such as embroidery, needlework, shibori, tapestry, spinning, etc. 

The manipulation of the fibers, fabrics and the transparencies of the fabrics is part of my identity. I use natural materials such as silk, organza and tulle. Also more solid materials such as raffia, cotton, felt, paper, velvet or metal that generate those transparencies and at the same time the rigidity.  The thread as a means of communication, a universal language in the Art of Fiber. 

Where do you work? 

I share a study with a colleague who is dedicated to painting. I like to share experiences with her and see how each of our work develops. We also have a garden so we can go out and have a coffee to get back to work. Many times we do not usually coincide and I work alone, that allows me to focus more on my artistic work when I arrive at the workshop. 

Can you tell me more about Un ladrillo más en la pared Detalle? 

With this work I want to reflect on the personal walls and barriers that each person establishes in their own environment and on their projection and consequences in the society in which we live (distrust, fear, isolation, lack of solidarity …). 

Not wanting to be a brick in the wall is an analysis of a metaphor of the causes that lead to delimit and surround our personal space and the responsibility and influence of those intimate and personal walls, which in the creation of clichés, stereotypes and prejudices, build collective walls. 

The construction of this work reflects a house, whose brick walls have just been destroyed. What remains is filled with bird feathers that at the same time provide shelter and warmth, symbolizing the freedom that comes from destroying those personal barriers. 

I know this is a hard question but how long does a bigger piece take? 

When you face a large-format work, you have to be very clear about what materials and supports you want to use. I sketch the stockings to scale and run the patterns on fabric or paper before cutting the final fabrics. Sometimes it takes me a year to research and experiment to make a lot of sketches and models, until you get to the final sketch and the technique you want to use each time. Once the technique is mastered, it usually takes a month or more for each work, depending on its dimensions. 

What are you most proud of in your art career so far? 

I believe that at the moment both my artistic career and my professional career as a cultural manager is known internationally and nationally. 

Fortunately as an artist, I have participated in more than 50 exhibitions, Art Fairs, Biennials and Triennials throughout the world, being the 2nd prize winner of the V International WTA Biennial in Argentina as well as other competitions. 

I have curated and directed, so far, around 20 exhibitions related to Fiber Art, being General Director of the VIII Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art WTA Sustainable City Madrid, Spain that took place in 2019. I have also been an international and national jury at many important events throughout my career as a cultural manager. 

Currently I have just presented the individual exhibition entitled LIVE MOTIVE, which aims to attract the viewer’s gaze, with works that narrate the intimate experiences lived during the pandemic, generating a path of reflection and understanding to move forward, giving a message of hope.
Using the tool of textile technique as a non-verbal language and claiming female labor as a weaving identity with this project of creation and investigation of contemporary visual languages. Weave and embroider texts with the concept of resilience to build the textile-visual proposals that we present in this project. 

At the same time, I am immersed in various cultural management projects but at the moment they are in a state of gestation with other artists and cultural institutions. 

As you can see, I do not lack projects, but I do have hours a day to continue creating and producing. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring textile artists? 

Through history we can find fabrics that tell the memory of each civilization, they can guide us to find our way. Right now the internet is available to everyone and they can see the great potential that Traditional Art and Contemporary Art have to carry out their future artistic projects. In the 

Museums, Art Fairs and galleries you can find a large number of artists to serve as a source of inspiration. They can also find that source in the human matter of each individual, the environment closest to him, the city, nature, globalization, the ecosystem, feminism…. 

My advice to aspiring textile artists is to research and experiment with all kinds of materials and techniques that they may find in their environment. Learn the traditional and contemporary techniques of your home countries as well as experiment with those of other countries in the world. 

I think it is important that these aspiring textile artists can participate in these great international events so that they take over and be the new generations in said textile events over time. 

Is there anything you would like to add? 

Previous exhibitions: 

https://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/mnartesdecorativas/en/exposiciones/actuales.html 

https://madrid2019.wta-online.org/calendario-bienal/?lang=es

https://diario.madrid.es/chamberi/tag/the-essence-fiber-art/

http://www.cce.org.uy/old/vii-bienal-internacional-wta-de-arte-textil-contemporaneo-uruguay- 2017/ 

https://saladeprensa.usal.es/node/112356

https://www.tribunasalamanca.com/noticias/los-rostros-del-olvido-muestran-en-la-plaza-mayor-de- salamaca-a-22-mujeres-rescatadas-de-la-historia https://www.efe.com/efe/america/cultura/montevideo-une-a-doce-artistas-espanoles-traves-del- lenguaje-textil/20000009-3404668

www.museojorgerando.org/ciclo/23/punto-quebrado-las-huellas-del-exodo.html www.ucm.es/fiber-future

www.centrojapones.es/exposicion-arte-contemporaneo-de-la-fibra-japones-miniaturas/

http://www.centrojapones.es/exposician-the-nature-spirit-arte-textil-contemporaneo-japonas/

http://www.mecd.gob.es/mtraje/exposicion/temporales/historico/2008/Fibras-08.html 

www.mariaortega.com 

https://www.facebook.com/mariaortegalvez/
https://www.instagram.com/mariaortegalvez/
https://www.youtube.com/user/MariaOrtegaGalvez 

https://vimeo.com/user64475891