Carlos Sagrera on Patterns: ‘In 2012 I found photos of my grandparents house from the 70’s, the images showing the empty rooms of the house they were about to move in to. After they passed away these images motivated me to start a series of paintings based on the rooms I knew so well my entire life.

I decided to take pictures of the spaces from the same angle as those of the 70’s. Comparing these images that spanned a 40-year period made me realize the multi-dimensionality that could serve me in my work. It visualizes how time passes by and leaves it’s traces by means of new arrangements; updating the furniture, changing the patterns of the wallpaper and modernizing the necessities over time. The floorboards showing traces of where furniture once had stood as well as the walls revealing where paintings and shelves used to hang or cabinets had been placed. The peeled paint and small cracks all a result of domestic life that had taken place in these rooms. Even without the presence of human life their behavioral patterns were clearly revealed.

The series paintings I based on these images made me reflect on the passing of time, finding a way to deal with the slowly fading memories of my own childhood.

Up to this day I still use these images but in my recent work I’ve also incorporated pictures of other spaces I’ve lived in or those of friends.

By working with spaces I know intimately I can not only collect the physical information but also incorporate my memories and experiences I’ve had there. The use of photos creates a certain distance between the subject matter and myself yet serve as a catalyst of memories, however selective they may be in the passing of time. This gives me the opportunity to go deeper into the image, highlighting certain elements in a detailed realism, working on the light and color temperature, talking about a vanishing testimony of the past’.

Carlos Sagrela (b. Madrid 1987.)  Lives and works in Leipzig, Germany. Graduated for his Fine Arts study in 2011. The main subject in the work of this young Spanish painter are interiors; different spaces of a home in which time seems to have stood still. The spaces evoke associations with the past and as a spectator you wonder if the interiors really existed, or if they are merely created by the artist. (Brandt gallery press-release)