Interview: Fernando Díaz "Ferruco" and abstraction as an inner language

Visual artist and architect Fernando Díaz Infante , better known as “ Ferruco ,” has focused his entire life on painting and drawing, although he only became a professional three years ago.

His practice focuses on abstract representation, understood as a record of the pictorial act and the creation of objects through experimentation.

For Ferruco, art is a means of continuous thought and questioning , a process that leads him to investigate the hidden and discover new forms of perception.

In his works he incorporates natural elements such as wood, charcoal and stone , as well as construction materials - metals, concrete or hoses -, generating tensions and resonances between the organic and the industrial.

He's drawn to abstraction and paints what he desires, although achieving the results he seeks involves a complex process. He said he's always painted and drawn nonexistent landscapes; without going into surrealism, but rather themes focused on a dreamlike world.

He currently works with fluid ink: “I try to contain the ink in some places, in others it overflows from the canvas, generating stains, and based on the stains I decide where to continue staining, but on the stains that are produced in a slightly more organic way,” he mentioned.

To create, he transforms what he observes into reality and how he perceives things. He draws with pencil, India ink, a pen, or any other material available . So, remember, his elementary and middle school notebooks are full of drawings.

His work, he says, has an internal component linked to feelings, but he believes that inspiration comes from both personal analysis and observation of the world.

He has worked constantly on his work and has evolved, because he recognizes that there are changes every day, since the only permanent thing in human beings is change.

"I believe in that part of evolution, where the work is going and what needs to be worked on, it's a lot of looking at oneself," he said.

Avoid limiting your works

Ferruco admits that it's difficult for him to title his pieces, as he believes doing so limits their interpretation. He prefers that each viewer view and interpret them freely, so as not to create a predisposition.

“Abstract art is what it is, and what it will generate in the viewer will be completely different,” he said.

His work seeks to trigger in the observer a sensitive experience that arises from the almost unnoticed details of everyday life.

Last year he exhibited with the Cultural Institute of León at the María Grever Theater and at Hangar Diez Mil Pies , an exhibition space at the Metropolitan Market .

Although he has his own architectural practice, he devotes much of his time to art. He doesn't work on commission, nor would he ever do so; his creation is born of freedom.

He shared that he was criticized at first, but he's convinced that art is linked to philosophy, beauty, and everything surrounding it. He knows that the art he creates speaks to him and others interpret it, and when he understood this, he lost his fear of letting go, and this is demonstrated by the evolution of his work.

Break into sculpture

For the past year and a half, the artist has been dabbling in sculpture.

One of the latest pieces I've made is focused on a series I called 'Non-Constructive Materials,' and it's a bit of a purely aesthetic reuse," he explained.

He uses steel, wood, and aluminum—common materials in architecture—but reinterprets them in a different format. “I’m using slices of charcoal-cut logs and split tubes to make some parts of my new collection,” he shared.

Among the artists he admires are Ramsés Ruiz, Manuel Lozano, Jorge Palos, Sebastián Beltrán, Miguel Meza (from Guadalajara) and Cristian Bautista .

Visionary project launched

Regarding the new generations of painters, he believes they are going through a good period, although there are still opportunities for dissemination. However, he mentions that social media has helped a lot, as people today are more focused on art than before.

Together with the sculptor Ramsés Ruiz , he developed the “ Bache ” project, with the aim of promoting and projecting artists from León towards other scenarios.

Additionally, in collaboration with Hangar , they are working on the “ Contemporary Terminal” initiative, which seeks to create synergy between galleries and creators.

We aim to provide artists with more spaces to exhibit, with the most formal approach possible, with appropriate curation and all the processes required for a professional art exhibition,” Ferruco explained.

The project began with the exhibition “Inflection Points” , created with Ana Luisa De la Torre , and later with a collaboration between Terminal Contemporánea and Galería Quetzalli of Oaxaca .

He is promoting this project because he is passionate about it.

PHRASE: “The word inspiration strikes me as a powerful one because it's limiting, coming from the word "inspire," which for me is like breathing; it's a constant work in progress. There's an exploration and a search.”

Gallery of the artist's works:

DMG