Meet nick lopez | artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with nick lopez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi nick, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is a matter of perception based on past experiences that make you think or feel that a certain activity is risky. I’ve never had a problem taking risks but I believe that’s partly because I am fortunate enough to have come from a good family with parents that I know love me and would be there for me if I got in a bind.
Risks also provides excitement and regardless of what happens, at the very least you usually end up with a good story. Life is about experiences and living and not being afraid of everything. Nothing says boring like living in a bubble.
I was brought up with the commonly held belief of no risk no reward. You take a risk and you deal with the consequences. Sometimes it works and sometimes it fails miserably. You believe in yourself, you learn from what happened, and you move on.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Coming family of builders, I learned how to swing a hammer before I could walk. Growing up, my dad owned a construction company which I was drafted into at an early age completely against my will. Despite my not wanting to work in construction I was always very good at it and it seemed to fit my lifestyle of working for a while and then traveling for a while.
Slowly slowly I learned to like and appreciate working with my hands. I started to make furniture for personal use, then had reasonable success making pieces to sell. I quickly realized however, that furniture had its limitations. If I was making a coffee table, at the end of the day, it still had to function as a table. Too many rules to follow. Becoming a bit bored with furniture I branched out into making sculptures, both figurative and abstract. I felt I had fewer barriers, far fewer rules, and of course much more creative freedom.

From my time in construction I had done a lot of tile and stone work and always loved stone mosaics. Taking the mosaic concept, I started to take pieces of wood and cut them down into thousands of little pieces, then reassemble them into figures and shapes. From there I sand and sculpt them into a smooth state which is where the real work begins. Once the piece is smooth I will paint each little block of wood a different color, just like a mosaic but made of wood. I like to create large colorful pieces that attempt to make a statement. It’s not uncommon to spend several hundred hours if not longer on the creation of a piece. It’s strange how I don’t have patience for most things, yet when I am working on a piece the world melts away and I am completely consumed by it.

My second love is concrete. It’s such a versatile material that has been around forever, will hold any shape, can be colored any color, can be very rough and textured, or can be polished to a high sheen. All you need is a bit of an imagination and you can make almost anything with it.

My concrete pieces are just like actual paintings in the sense that they are almost flat, there is a visible image, and they are designed to hang on a wall. When you see them you’ll think they’re painted but if you tried to lift one you’ll quickly realize that they are solid concrete. All the different colors and different shapes are just different colors of concrete.

While I do create abstract pieces, most of my current work focuses on and is inspired by cultural and societal issues that plague us today. I’m observant, perceptive, and of course perhaps a bit critical. I make pieces that I feel are relevant to my life and to the times we’re living in.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m of the opinion that we are over stimulated, over indulged, priorities are all mixed up, etc, etc.. Since I’m not in my twenties anymore, what really matters to me are quality friends and home cooked food.

With that in mind I’d definitely go on a motorcycle ride through the Santa Monica Mountains and then down the PCH to Malibu.

Pick up some hors d’oeuvres and some alcoholic contraband then proceed to Zuma Beach. Then you must hope you don’t get caught doing the unthinkable of consuming the aforementioned contraband while trying to relax staring into the vast expanse of the ocean watching the sun go down.

For dinner, if no one was cooking, i’d have to go to Versailles for the best chicken and secret sauce ever.

I would introduce him or her to my friends since I find them all quite interesting and I believe that its the people that make the difference in a city, not some fancy restaurant or bar.

Must make time to check out the Getty and the Broad too.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Fortunately for me I have very good parents that are still happily married after all I put them through. If it wasn’t for them, aside from not even existing, I wouldn’t have a fraction of the qualities that make me who I am.

A very special thank you to Kaveri and TJ Singh for all their encouragement and support along the way. Kaveri, (@kaverisinghart) is a very dear friend as well as the most amazingly talented person I know. You have been the main source of my success and for this I will be forever grateful.

Also I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by these talented people at my studio that I am proud to call my friends. Carson Giles (@gilescarson), Jumie Ra (@jumieceramics), Ming Wang (@pasadenaville), Beverly Morrison (@sculptorlady), Julia Frances (@julia_frances_), and Alex Feliciano (@aumabstract).

Last but definitely not least I want to thank Nona Datta and the entire Datta family for welcoming me into their family. I can’t thank you enough for everything you have done for me.

Website: nicklopezstudio.com

Instagram: @nicklopezstudio