We were lucky to catch up with Marlen Lugo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Marlen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Early on my career I had an interesting dream, where I saw a coffee percolator surrounded by names of teas and their qualities in a type of futuristic machine. Needless to say I have never seen a percolator in my life, or drank much tea as coming from the Caribbean stovetops expresso machines were how we consumed our daily coffee.
That same day I walked into a thrift shop where this older lady was selling her goods and there it was, the same glass item I had seen in my dreams. Of course I was amazed and asked the woman what was it’s use. She thoroughly described its mechanics, but will have none of it as I mentioned I seen it in my dreams. She continuously replied… ‘It has nothing to do with it’…
This coincidence drove me to investigate all I remembered from the dream; study the ancient traditions of Japanese tea ceremony, find the parallels to my Latin culture and imitate as close as possible the exact environment that could hold space for people drinking tea and sharing stories like in Puerto Rico’s ‘Bohios’ (shacks.)
The PuertoRican Tea House was the culmination of a year of research, drawings, gatherings of friends sewing tea bags and artistic pursues to create a public Installation for The Cambridge River Festival. Everything I used was symbolic or actual to a tea house or a the Puerto Rican Bohio where people gather to eat by the water in the coast of the island.
Reviews were written and a lot of hype was created around it when this piece that had “nothing to do with it’ earned me the Massachusetts Fellowship in sculpture the following year and continuous grant support to do other work. The dream was a necessary vision to move into unknown territory and my curiosity and perseverance brought me great rewards. Having clear intention and believing are always essential to succeed.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a visual artist. I was born in San Juan Puerto Rico, an island of surreal qualities. I was fortunate to be able to come to the United States to study and pursue a career in the arts. I have lived in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles and at the moment I am a Resident of Nashville.
My creative practice is rooted in daily drawing, where I observe and respond to the world around me. These drawings form the foundation for larger works; which evolve in the studio where I allow the work to develop organically and evolve in unexpected directions. I use these sketches as starting points to reimagine forms, translating them into physical, three-dimensional works that move between abstraction and representation. I use paper, leather, wood, paint, and textiles for their ability to convey both the fragility and strength of the natural world. Each medium serves as a metaphor for the ways in which nature both shapes and is shaped by time, place, and experience
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I feel extremely fortunate that I have a certain freedom to tap in daily when I create, re-imagine, expose and play, creating personal stories and virtual spaces. The imagination is limitless and is a privilege to go deep often and question our existence and the meaning of existence. I like entering uncharted territories and taking unexpected turns. Discovery is crucial to remaining present and alive. Plus, may I say doing visual work is extremely valuable when you get the results intended. Not always the case, as my practice is trial and sometimes error, but to challenge ourselves continues to be rewarding.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I was not raised with computers. and technology is in everything we are encounter today. I truly admire artist using AI, computers and machines to execute their work as its intricate to the fabric of communications.
Is a great thing to know there are industrious tools that can assist in the creation of larger works of art, so not all has to be done by hand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marlenlugo.com
- Instagram: marlenlugostudio
Image Credits
Marlen Lugo