HOMO FABER FELLOWSHIP
Carla Garcia Durlan
©Juan de los Mares
Carla Garcia Durlan
©Juan de los Mares
Carla Garcia Durlan
©Juan de los Mares
Carla Garcia Durlan
©Carla García Durlán
Carla Garcia Durlan
©All rights reserved

Carla Garcia Durlan

Jewellery making

Barcelona, Spain

Jewellery as artistic canvases

  • Carla's painterly strokes are present in her jewellery
  • The jewellery she makes is contemporary and artistic
  • She has participated in several jewellery exhibitions

The work of Carla García Durlán sits between the craft of jewellery and the art of painting – what is indisputable is that her creations are inspiring and nourished by many creative inputs. Using different materials – mainly metal, wood and textiles – she assembles and blends them, using “arte povera” as an artistic and cultural reference for her artistic and contemporary jewellery pieces. Her creative process is a personal journey of introspection. She uses her life experience to inform her work. By exploring these themes in her work she explores her inner self. Her jewellery is characterised by bold colour strokes and her one-off pieces reflect truly unique moments. Carla has been living in Barcelona and the daily life and decadent aesthetic of some of its neighbourhoods is a source of inspiration for her.

Carla Garcia Durlan is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2013.

INTERVIEW

I favour neutral colours rather than pristine, primary ones. I like colours to have an aura of melancholy. White is seminal – as it reminds me of light – and it is where textures stand out, as you may see the volume created by shadows.

I collect materials. I experiment and salvage them, through manipulation I look for textures. My working process is based on creative freedom, I put together all the different pieces, looking for balance and tension among materials, shapes and textures.

I used to, mostly charms gifted to me, but don’t as much anymore as I do not feel it is safe while handling tools in the workshop. I occasionally still wear gifted pieces as they remind me of people and my creations – but only really on special occasions.

Brooches – because they allow freedom to the body – there is no restraint in wearing a brooch. And I sometimes wear earrings, they are almost an extension of the body – I find the way in which earrings mirror the way the wearer moves is like playing with gravity.