Toni Font explores the limits of artistic processes in gallery 6a

PalmPerhaps the best way to summarize the work of artist Toni Font (Pollença, 1977) is through a conversation he had a few months ago with critic and curator Carlos Jover, which Font himself recounts. "He came to the studio and told me he didn't understand why I was pushing one of those papers I had hanging up, that he found it beautiful just as it was," the artist relates, "and I replied that I also found it beautiful, but that the paper demanded it of me within a struggle, I had to... reality, but I can't do anything if the process brings me along."

The latest demonstration of this struggle, as he himself defines the creative process he has developed over the last twenty-five years, are the eight works that make up Intimate dialoguesThe exhibition, which opens this Thursday, December 4th, at 6ª Taller y Galeria, features paintings where color and textures, presences and absences, combine to create a pictorial experience reminiscent of... collage And, at the same time, in balance. "The process is a very important part of the final result; it's integral to it, and that's why it's usually slow. I can spend months with a piece of paper hanging in my studio, which for me is like a laboratory, and I can even come to hate it and resent it, until the day comes when a way to incorporate it appears. Without a good start, I can't get there, and I can't get the different pieces that make it up to fit together."

This way of understanding and carrying out artistic practice, in any case, has deep roots and has been nourished by diverse elements and influences. After studying interior design, in 1999 Font moved to Chile with the idea of expanding his studies and coming into contact with other cultures. "South America captivated me with its landscapes, and also with its people. In fact, I even tried to contact some locals, but it wasn't possible. Even so, something sparked during my time there, and little by little I began to connect design and creativity, art and photography, and everything that has influenced me politically, translating it into my work."

Despite all this, the artist from Pollença defines his artistic practice as a lifeline. "Right now, the process of life runs parallel to the creative process," he acknowledges, "and before, perhaps I could disconnect from my artist self, but now it's almost impossible. I've had to accept that I must live 24 hours a day with that decision, or with that impulse that was born within me, and become increasingly familiar with my profession. You know what's going to happen. And you have to learn to live with that too." Among others, Toni Font has exhibited in galleries in Madrid, Catalonia, and Mallorca and has received awards such as the first prize at the Young Masters competition.

And although photography, which is usually part of his artistic practice, is not present in this new exhibition by Toni Font, four lithographic pieces that he has made in the same Workshop 6a are included. "I had already worked in 2014, with pieces both in drypoint and with lithographic stone, but this pickaxe has been only lithographic stone," explains the artist, "and that has made the process more rational. collageThe holes, the textures… Everything involved dialogue and debate with the technicians about how we were doing it, which, whether you like it or not, means that the most visceral part of the work ends up occupying less space. This dispute between the technical and artistic aspects affects the process, and I consider the process to be the great richness of my current work.”