Sandra Modregó: “Through Le Corps I want to convey the idea that all bodies are intrinsically beautiful"

Natural and free bodies. This is how the young artist Sandra Modregó defines the essence of her work, which she has aptly named Le corps. Indeed, her paintings focus on the human figure with the aim of extolling the real beauty of each body. And she goes further. She attempts to break mental schemas by proposing to the viewer a new interpretation of social stereotypes of what is considered the “perfect” body and its complexities. The Catalan artist is one of the talents participating in the exhibition series Below Thirty, organized by Seventy Barcelona, which hosts artists under 30 years old every fortnight, to display their works and share their passion for the art world. Her work will be on display at The Attik space until the upcoming 11th of December.

When did you realize that you wanted to dedicate yourself to painting? Could you tell us a bit about the origins?

I believe I have always been clear about it because ever since I can remember, I have always been drawing or painting. However, there was a point in my life when I didn't give it enough importance and decided to try another career, which I also currently pursue in parallel. I studied business management and administration, and after finishing my degree, I realized that I wanted to focus on the management of cultural companies. Passion was calling me. Now I lead a "double life" working in the patronage department of a cultural institution in Barcelona and painting whenever I can. But I always knew it, I have never stopped painting and drawing, even though I didn't show it. And then, a friend saw my work and said, “Why don't we do something and set up an exhibition?” And from there, everything has been incredible. We set up an exhibition in Madrid with Carmen from Dust&Soul and curated by Juan Moreno, and it was amazing.

How was that moment when everything starts to make sense, when people become interested in your work?

Mind-blowing. You really can't believe it, you're on cloud nine. It's incredible to think that someone you don't know at all likes your art, appreciates your work, and is interested in what you do. And beyond that, it's something so personal and so much your own that in the end, it's like a child. Sometimes people have even asked me, 'hey, doesn't it make you sad to part with some of your works?' But the truth is, I've never seen it that way, it's so overwhelming that someone likes your work, is interested in you, and wants to have a piece of your art in their home.

Why did you use to paint for yourself before, or did you do some sort of action with your paintings?

No, I mostly painted for myself. Perhaps I would give away some portrait drawings to friends, but it was always for personal use, also to decorate my house or for a few other things. And with quite a varied style, because in the end I really enjoy trying new things. Now I have indeed defined my style a lot with Le Corps, but even so, I really like to experiment. In fact, I am currently thinking about taking it further and introducing other types of techniques or some novelty to give it a bit more consistency, to change and progress.

Tell us also a bit about your work Le Corps, how would you define it?

Le Corps was born because nowadays society constantly invites you to have multiple forms of dissatisfaction with your own body. And precisely through Le Corps, I want to convey the idea that all bodies are intrinsically beautiful, that beauty does not lie in a size or a measurement. Everything is beautiful, everything is lovely and it is so naturally. The idea is that everyone can see that all bodies are beautiful.

Who are your references or influences when it comes to painting?

The truth is that I find inspiration in a bit of everything. I can be inspired by a movement, suddenly taking out the camera, taking photos with my phone, capturing the movement and from there think of a different theme or give it a twist. And sometimes it happens that there are paintings inspired by people who are in a restaurant. Instagram also helps me a lot to think about poses. There are some blogs and accounts that are very interesting, and they focus precisely on the idea of conveying that all bodies are perfect.

So, a lot in photography, right?

Yes, a lot in photography and then in the natural gestures of people. On the other hand, I also have artistic references that I like very much, such as Matisse, Picasso, I also really like Christiane Spangsberg, who is a contemporary artist... I don't know, I look a bit at what is being done everywhere, because apart from being an artist, I love art.

You portray the bodies but never the faces or heads of women, why? I suppose it's somewhat to depersonalize them so that the message you want to convey is what comes across.

Absolutely. The idea is that anyone can be that body and that precisely all bodies can be for everyone. So the idea is this, to depersonalize and generalize nudity.

And why do you always use blue and white?

White is a reserve. White is not the color white, it's the actual sheet or canvas. And blue, I use it first because, I won't lie to you, it's one of my favorite colors and I particularly love that shade of blue, but also because it's the blue that represents freedom and peace. So the idea is that these bodies are always enveloped in freedom and peace to intensify the message that they are indeed free, happy, and content.

Are you planning to change the color or will you continue with blue?

Initially, I will keep the blue, unless I do specific series as I did last year with Dust&Soul. We made a series that was 'Parcheesi' and so I made a blue one, a red one, a yellow one, and a green one, but that was a limited series. What I have done now is an entire series also for Dust&Soul for this winter of black and white paintings.

And how do you interpolate the routine when it comes to painting the picture? When you do it, do you more or less know what you are going to do? What is that process like?

There are two ways. There's the day when I'm inspired and I just dive into painting non-stop. Then I let myself go and just keep doing and doing. Usually, from those sessions, about 10 works might emerge, of which 1 or 2 are good, and the rest I keep in case they inspire me later on. Then there's the day when I say: okay, after having done a thorough study, getting ideas from photos, thinking about how much I wanted to do of each thing, making sketches, re-sketching, until one thing has nothing to do with the other, then I start from the things that are already established, I know the sizes, the shapes, I know everything. I usually always work this way and combine it with a part of total inspiration, because I also like to let myself go. There's always a very studied part and another part of 'letting out what I feel at that moment'.

And how long can this process last, more or less?

It varies a lot. There are times when I can be thinking about what I'm going to do for several months... I would say that preproduction is definitely what takes the most time. Then, I can produce a work in one day, but I might spend two months thinking about what works I'm going to make. It's complicated but I enjoy it immensely because I'm constantly thinking and even though I'm not doing it all the time in my day-to-day life, I keep turning it over in my mind and everything becomes inspiration: a movement on the street, walking into a cafe and seeing a woman on the terrace smoking a cigarette or a man working.

In addition to Le Corps, you have created another exclusively male collection, L’Homme. When did you decide that you also had to paint them?

Always. I have never wanted to focus solely on women or only on men. I start from the concept of gender equality precisely and the freedom of both bodies. I believe that social stereotypes affect both. Indeed, women may be more exposed because commercially we are a stronger focus. But I also didn't want to neglect the male gender. Not in any case. I always envisioned Le Corps as encompassing both sexes.

Let's talk now about the proposal you offer at Seventy, what will people find when they come to see the exhibition?

In this exhibition, I present 4 large-scale works, measuring 1x1.20 meters. This show is called “Le femme a la plage en hiver” and the idea is that the focus of the work is on the nude bodies of women who are on a stage that is the beach. My source of inspiration has been the winter walks on the beaches of the south of France, more specifically the landscapes of the French Basque coast. Those morning walks you take to really relax and where you see the waves breaking, you relax watching the ocean, the wind comes and moves your hair. It is the perfect setting to show how relaxed the woman is, how calm and confident she is, and to display those bodies that are precisely beautiful, natural, feel free and above all are happy.

Finally, can you give us a preview of the next projects or ideas that you have in mind for the coming year?

It seems to me that you will have to wait until June 2020 to find out.