#3 Hot Coffee with an Artist

Series of conversations by Nina Mdivani

A cup of coffee with New York-based Mexican artist Brandon Tellez

In his upcoming exhibition Candyland, Brandon Tellez uses lucid, almost hallucinogenic colors to transport viewers to verdant lands reminiscent of a paradise and a candy store. Yet the sugarcoated earnings of Tellez do not completely distract viewers, as his emotional pathos of Expressionism lacks sentimentality. Deeply influenced by fearless iconoclasm of Vincent van Gogh, Tellez expresses a profound longing for the simplicity of the gone time of his childhood. His six siblings still hold hands in a peaceful harmony. Tellez invites us into his immersive world of organic forms, where humans and animals form one interconnected system. Another strand of his practice is the artist’s engagement with Catholicism. Religion played an important part in his upbringing and today he continues to explore its core ideas of sin, sacrifice, and redemption.

Nina Mdvani: Where are you sitting right now for this coffee? What are the three things you see?

Brandon Tellez: I couldn’t relate to the first question since I don’t drink coffee or see myself ever going to coffee shops so I didn’t want to respond to a question I couldn’t genuinely respond to.

NM: What is the most exciting event that is coming up in the next weeks for you?

BT: The most exciting events coming up for me in the next few weeks is the holidays and my little sibling’s birthday parties. Even thou I have a solo exhibition in NYC which is very exciting the most important thing to me is family and finally being able to spend this time with them means everything and more to me. 

NM: Why is the upcoming exhibition titled “Candyland”? What makes you choose these particular colors over others?

BT: The title Candyland came from a theme I had to put into this selection of work. Candy and sweets in my culture are very common and, in all honesty, this is how our mother raised us in Mexico. The comfort I feel around sweetness made it for a perfect exhibition name. I ultimately wanted you to step into this world that I would describe as Candyland. This was also a reason why I decided to paint my walls pink and green – to give viewers that experience. I have previously used strong, dark and intense colors, but with this selection of five works I decided to approach it differently through combining vibrant colors together. 

NM: What role does God play in your life? Is religion still important for you?

BT: I was raised in church my whole life, my mother would take us 3-4 days out of the week and she always made sure we had that relationship with God. Religion plays a big role in my work as I always make it clear in what I believe in and who I’m always grateful for what I have so one way or another you will always see that in my work. 

NM: Your large-scale works are full of motion, vibrancy and life. Do you ever feel at peace?

BT: Of course, I can feel at peace, that peace comes from knowing that I poured my heart and soul into my work and that’s usually how I know when a painting is finished. That feeling of knowing that no matter the outcome of the painting I gave it my everything so peace for me as an artist stems from that. 

Read more about the exhibition > HERE

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Hot Coffee with an Artist:

In these short conversations Nina Mdivani, Tbilisi-born and New York-based writer, curator and gallerist touches on topics of importance for the artists she encounters across the globe. They discuss coffee places, upcoming shows as well as what’s the crux of their artistic processes.