Alan Lacke talks to us about his art, answering 10 questions, using the 5 W’s

(Who, What, Where, When, Why).

WHO

Who are you?

Hi, I’m Alan Lacke Cairo, a Cuban artist living in Madrid. Spain. I graduated me in Graphic Arts in 2006 in Havana, Cuba. I worked in a printing press directly in the workshop from 2006 to 2012. Then I began art studies taught by 2 Cuban plastic artists, one was Eduardo Díaz Piñeiro with whom I trained in sculpture and the other is the plastic artist Ernesto García Peña with whom I learned about Painting and drawing. I work with them in their workshops a first cycle in sculpture and another later in painting. Since 2015 I start my independent career as a creator in my own studio in Havana, Cuba.

Who are your favourite artists?

My artistic influences are various to this day they continue to appear thanks to the cultural richness that surrounds us daily. But the most outstanding in my development lie in artists such as Paul Klee, Wasily Kansdisky, Mondrian, Mattisse, Chuck Close, Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock among others such as the British artist Brian Clake and Cuban artists who led an abstract art movement on In the 1950s in Cuba, the group of 10 concrete artists in which creators such as Lolo Soldevilla, Pedro de Ora, Sandu Darie and Mario Carreño participated, among others.

WHAT

What themes does your art focus on?

My art is based above all on scientific information, physical and mathematical laws, algebra, geometry and above all history.

What is your hallmark as an artist?

I try to invite the viewer of my work to a silent contemplation of an almost mystical sense of seeing the world. I try to cause this sensation through a good use of color, shape and space. I would like to point out that color is the fundamental concept in my work.

What music or other audio do you listen to while you work?

I always try to recreate a festive atmosphere in my living and working spaces. So music is a fundamental piece to achieve this, it always accompanies me, I usually like almost all music in general. I believe that music has the ability to touch the soul of all beings. My favorite genres are Jazz, Classical Music, Salsa and the creations of alternative and contemporary music.

WHEN

When did you decide that art was part of you and your life?

Art has always been part of my life, from a very young age I was struck by design, colors, posters, logos, traffic signs and advertising. I had fun as a teenager on my PC designing with digital programs that I had at my fingertips at the time. Then begins my stage in the printing press where I was trapped in the world of graphic arts full of colors, paper, cardboard and formats. Once inside it, I began to awaken a special interest in color. I was very impressed by how small plots or dots were responsible for so many of the spectacular images that surround us today. How fascinating and discovering it is when you combine them with each other, how new ranges of unique colors emerge depending on the proportions that one adds and the color that is used. After a cycle already completed, I begin to miss my true passions that had been left unattended and I find myself with sufficient reasons to start creating. But the knowledge learned in Graphic Arts was not enough and I understood that I had to start a more specific training in plastic arts that would put order to so many of the ideas I had at that time. Since my first steps in sculpture I felt a special connection between my being and the material. Key step to enter and understand the volume, space and perspective, main bases in the drawing studies that I was doing in parallel to the workshop work.

WHERE

Where do you work on your artwork?

I have always worked in interior spaces with good lighting and a controlled environment, it helps me to concentrate and favors to conceive the colors that I am creating. Although I have also worked in outdoor spaces and a different energy is generated which is also great for me.

Where would you like to see your artworks exhibited?

My true intention with my Art is that it be shown worldwide since it has emerged from Cuba for the world and the more beings can enjoy it, the happier and more joyful my works will be.

WHY

Why do you make art?

Art Saves. I only intend to invite the viewer of my work into a silent contemplation of an almost mystical sense of seeing the world.

Why do you think art is important in our society?

Art is the key piece in the development of human evolution. It is durable over time sometimes great. It has the ability to convey emotions and inform. I believe that all well-intentioned Art must be available at the service of all beings on this Planet, since it makes us free and capable of connecting with our interior with great ease. But above all it is the story that we were, are and will be.

Visit the Pavilion in Augmented Reality in Artinside Gallery dedicated to Alan Lacke (Cuba. Resident in Spain).

Download “Artinside Gallery+” on the App Store (for iPad and iPhone) and enjoy Alan Lacke’s Pavilion: his artworks come to life around you in life-size, in augmented reality!

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