Formidable Mag: What was your first creative impulse? Cachorro Lozano: I would say being born. That’s quite a creative impulse. But on a lighter note, my first creative impulses were related to music, dancing and singing. I always thought of myself as some kind of showgirl, born to entertaining people. Then I discovered color pencils and… my world expanded enormously.
FM: Is there some epiphany moment or experience that made you realize art would be your way? CL: I never had that epiphany you mention because, honestly, I just never considered any other options. It was art, or art. No other chance. Maybe deciding to “study” art was, in a way, the most conscious “epiphany” I had, committing myself to make a living of it.
FM: Inspirational artists? CL: Warhol, Lola Flores, Hockney, Adam Curtis, Terenci Moix, Madonna, Barbara Kruger, Truman Capote, Natalia Goncharova, Javier Gurruchaga, Cy Twombly, Kim Kardashian, Matisse, Ignasi Aballí, Sara Montiel, Basquiat… the list could go on forever.
FM: How would you define your work? CL: Brutal. Savage. Tender. Defying. Highly erotic. Naif. A description of a generation. A hug after rough sex. And cute, really really cute.
FM: Is there a particular book or reading that helped you define your practice? CL: The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone living in this century, and specially to anyone who wants to do art.
FM: Is there a concept, vision, discourse, overture, etc. that allows you to keep a consistent body of work from one project to the next, and throughout the years? CL: I want my art to be produced in a way that can be easily recognizable the moment you see it. Without any doubt. And I want my images to be part of our everyday life, I want them to be printed everywhere, to conquer the universe and fill it with colors and rainbows and geometric forms and wild figures.
FM: Would you say your studio setting influences your work? CL: Absolutely. Right now I am searching for a studio, so I work from home. I draw in my bed sometimes, and my main subject is desire. So I guess its pretty coherent. I need a comfortable and cozy place to create. I tend to conquer spaces, I accumulate lots of objects, and writings, and magazines, books, crayons, ceramics, photo cameras, fabrics… I have to make a place mine to feel like home and feel inspired. And that is a vast process.
FM: Is the studio just a place for production or also inspiration is inherent to the studio space? CL: Inspiration comes everywhere, and the studio is like a bubble where I can concentrate without everyday distractions. In the studio I am able to develop and transform that inspiration It’s where the magic happens. Almost like a factory. Studio for me equals production.
FM: Did you have a plan for the layout of your studio or did it develop organically? CL: What I had was a hunch, a suspicion of what I wanted to be and become, and where I wanted to be. And from there, I started working to get the most of it and be the closest possible to the idea of myself I had in mind. I am still working on it right now.
FM: How is a day in the life of Cachorro Lozano? CL: I tend to star the day at 10:00 sharp with a huge coffee reading and some news on my phone. Then computer work and business managing (web, shipping orders, managing future projects, creating and uploading new products, emailing). Also, I call my family during this early hours of the day. Afternoons and evenings are more creative. I enjoy cooking dinner, meeting some friends, taking photographs… I stay up till late because it’s at night when I get more creative. I wish I had more time to read more books or go to the gym more often.
FM: Best and worst night out? CL: I’d say the best nights are the most unexpected. A dinner that is so fun that lasts until 6 in the morning or the kind of night when some friends talk me into going clubbing and I end up spending the whole night dancing techno like a kid. The Worst nights are those that never happen, the ones you really want to do something and none is in the mood for going out (this happens quite often in the winter in Madrid…).
FM: What do you love and hate about Madrid? CL: Madrid is a place that absolutely blends with your mood and boosts it. This means that if you are really joyful and feel successful and ambitious… Madrid will empower you. But if, on the contrary, you are feeling blue, or frustrated… this city will bring you down and treat you like shit and it will become your hell. It’s very easy to get lost in Madrid, people come and go, there are lots of fake personalities eager for fame and success, self called underground kids that actually come from well-heeled families… everyday Madrid BS. But you cannot hate Madrid, is vibrant, colourful, kind, different every time, modern, pack with cultural events, exciting… The trick is to leave some months and then return with bright new energy.
FM: What’s on your playlist? CL: Right now I’m obssesed with Mercedes Nasta’s “Paricutín (El Búho Edit)”, it takes you to a new universe. Mina’s “Il cielo in una stanza” is another must. Lola Flores, Rocio Jurado and Lole y Manuel are basics on my playlist. And of course Rosalía, Arca, Charlie XCX, Frank Ocean, Madonna, Agar Agar…
FM: Our motto is “A life less ordinary”, what makes life less ordinary/worth living? CL: Creative thinking. Understanding life with an specific sensibility, being receptive and opened to every impulse and feeling, like a building with no roof.
