Watching order emerge from chaos

October 18, 2023

When she first began painting, Oaia Peruarena, like many artists, drew her inspiration from nature and landscapes, notably in the Basque Country's Baztan valley, where she learned to paint with local figurative artists José Mari Apezetxea and Tomás Sobrino.

Later, however, she launched into abstraction. And that is where things became more complex.

Oaia, whose recent paintings are on show in the Prison des Évêques in Saint Jean Pied de Port from until October 2023, shares some insights into her way of painting and her objectives.

The main theme, she explains, is to express thoughts and feelings that in everyday life often are not so easy to make audible or visible.

"In some paintings, I leave parts unpainted because I think the work has reached a point where it is not going to improve any further. In others, I feel the need to cover every corner without leaving any empty space."

"But this is never decided at the start of the process. These are things that impose themselves in the course of the dialogue between painter and painting."

"What interests me is the order that emerges out of apparent chaos. Sometimes, I paint with my hands, rather than paintbrushes, to break the direction that the brushes impose on me."