fashion – FIND AND SEEK

Tell us a little bit about your background, how did you get your start in the art world?

In the art world I started professionally in 2010 when I lived in London.

What is your creative process like?

Every day I am documenting about aesthetic movements that I like that are inspiring me here and there. The most difficult thing is to find the idea. Once you have the idea the next step in the process is sketching, then trying different materials and color combinations; I make collages to get an idea of how it will be exposed in a real space. Once I convince myself it all works then I begin the final piece.

What inspired your “faceless” series?

This collection is a tribute to all my idols, characters that have somehow marked me throughout my life.

As a child you wanted to be a fashion designer. Is this something we expect to see from you soon?

If all goes well I would like to draw a line of clothes this year, but I am very thorough with all my projects and I need to have everything under control to carry it out.

I read that Picasso is one of your biggest influences. What is your favorite piece by him?

‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ is my favorite piece by Picasso, I remember seeing it for the first time in the movie ‘Titanic’ when I was eight years old and was fascinated by the colors of the painting. A few months ago I was lucky to see it at the MoMa Museum and of course it is a piece that provokes many things in me, I feel Stendhal’s syndrome when I see it. Although probably what arouses the most feelings in me is the photographic process of the creation of Guernica.

What is inspiring you right now? What are you currently working on?

I am currently sucking on everything that at some point in my life inspired me to create a book that I am writing and drawing on my relationship with art.

Coco Dávez is not your real name, what inspired this moniker?

My real name is Valeria Palmeiro, ‘Coco’ came up with a Sesame Street character that made me very funny and ‘Dávez’ is the total invention of a surname.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I hope that the Dávez universe will grow and not be left alone in the canvases, I would like this signature to become a company.

Tell us a little bit about your background, how did you get your start in the art world?

Well, I was born at my father’s painting studio. He is also an artist so since my very first day in this world I was surrounded by brushes, canvas, colors, pencils… So this was the natural path for me. I always knew I would become someone whose life is art. It’s been easy in that sense, I never had any doubts or a plan B.

I read that you are from Spain; how does your heritage translate into your work?

I’m not sure if my work is influenced by my country. I never use Spain and its tradition as a specific part of my inspiration. Or at least no more than other countries. I use Italian, American, African or Asian heritages at the same level as the Spanish one.

Your work consists of a lot of very colorful portraits. How do you pick your subjects?

I always have dozens of stories in my mind that I want to tell through my work, most of them are about pretty much the same thing: the non-standard people, the non-regular people, minorities (usually not well treated minorities). I’ve been living with gypsies for 10 years and have seen that B side of society, but there are also wonderful things that happen, there is also magic there, even brighter than the usual one. I like to speak about that magic from the B side of the society.

What is your creative process like?

I always create the story first in my mind, and the rest of the process is pretty much improvisation. I let my hands choose the composition and my eyes and heart choose the colors… There is not too much to explain, I just create the story in my mind and the rest happens naturally 🙂

I read that you listen to a lot of hip-hop while painting. What is on your playlist right now?

Desiigner, Future, Kanye, Lil Yachty…

On your Instagram I’ve seen a couple of really cool clothing pieces with your work on them. Is clothing/print design something that you thought you would ever be a part of?

I love fashion, it’s fun and it’s a great kind of art. I’m working on my own clothing brand, I hope I can get some fun from the fashion world someday.

What is inspiring you right now? What are you currently working on?

I’m working on a sort of illustrated encyclopedia about outsiders of our world, human minorities, cities, countries, animals, plants, artists… A book about the B side of life.