ownsit! 3.0 christmas pop up online + instore landing soon x

Hello Mireia Ruiz!

Who is Mireia Ruiz?

Mireia Ruiz, 1983, Barcelona. Plastic artist who lives and works in her studio in Barcelona. She completed her graphic design studies at the BAU design school in Barcelona (2001-2005). After being part of several design studios, she joined Cocolia Studio (2009- 2019), where she took charge of its art direction and developed creative photography and set design projects. Today, she devotes herself to her artistic passion, by dealing with the use of color as a communicative tool. She also works as a teacher at the IDEP Barcelona design school, teaching “Experimental projects and creativity”, in the Postgraduate courses in Fashion, Graphic and Photography.

When did you know that becoming an artist was your destiny and subsequently your full time job?

I could say that since I was little, I liked to "play painting", something that most of my friends did not understand. I would have liked to enter the fine arts career but I did not have family support, so my drawing teacher advised me to train as a graphic designer, something that my parents liked much more. When I finished studying, I practiced for many years, until I decided to show my artistic side more clearly. I guess it was something I couldn't hold back any longer, it's a need that remained latent.

You live in Barcelona, a city overflowing with art, culture and architecture – how does this inspire your creative mind? 

Barcelona is a Mediterranean city that welcomes talented people, both illustrators and artists. Everything inspires me, the people, the places, walking around, but above all it is a comfortable and pleasant city.

My favorite place, that I am a regular, is the street market "Encants de Barcelona", located very near to DHUB, Museum of Design of Barcelona. I strongly recommend you if you visit Barcelona to see both places that are very close one to the other. I go every Saturday to the street market with my mother, there I can find interesting objects, from other periods, second hand I love to train my sight to find the best objects and take then home.

Who inspires you the most in the creative world?

My great heroine is the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) the true pioneer of abstract art, her very personal and unique work was hidden by herself for years. Her abstract paintings were not known until 1986, since, at the express wish of the artist, in her last wishes she requested that her works not be exhibited until twenty years after her death, since she considered that her work would not be well received in her epoch. She was the true forerunner of abstract art, I respect and admire her. I am inspired by her mysticism, her interpretation of life, the cosmos and the use of color together with geometry.

Which medium do you favour the most in your work?

My latest works are wood collages, small pieces of wood that I find anywhere: on the beach, in the mountains, or in the streets. It is a way to recycle and give a second chance, a random union that makes me enjoy.

How do you describe the artwork created for ownsit!?

The patten design for Ownsit is part of a painting I made for my sister. You have a strong black like her spirit and it is surrounded by pastel colors like the sensitive part of her, it is a combination that reminds me of her personality. It is also a painting that represents a sea and mountains in a very geometric way, it is a Mediterranean landscape, the warm place of my origins.

What do you admire most about having your own brand and business?

It makes me very happy to be able to fulfill myself as an artist. Collaborate with clothing brands such as Ownsit and that my paintings go out to the streets. It's wonderful to be able to be my own boss and send a message of positivity to the world.

Can you offer any advice on choosing the right art for your space? 

Art offers us to experience feelings, each person experiences them in a way. It is important that these works make you feel good, accompany you every day, be it for its message, its energy or its form. Art should make you feel.

When I am commissioned a painting, I always do a color study of the place and ask my client what colors make him feel energetic, each person has a subjective interpretation of colors, and I like to work with their emotions and color.

What are some of the wins you have celebrated with your art? 

For me it is a victory to be able to dedicate myself to art and make a living from them: sell my paintings, make murals and collaborate with brands that value art. That to me was unreal when I was young, and I finally got it.

Who are your favourite artists from history?

As Hilma af Klint mentioned above, but there are many more artists, for example: Anni Albers (textile designer, Bauhaus School and Maria Blanchard (Cubist movement).

Who are your favourite living artists?

There are many artists who are my reference such as Katarina Grosse,  Yayoi Kusama or Etel Adnan, who work with color in a very expressive way.


Do you have any favourite art books?

INTERACTION OF COLOR, Josef Albers

GREAT WOMEN ARTIST, Phaidon Editors

Can you recommend your favourite art documentaries?

China's Van Goghs | Painting With Light 2017

Now for some fun questions...

Share some guilty pleasures?

Eat chips and then chocolate.

Or Smoking some marijuana.

You have one last meal on this earth, what is that?

Paella

What is your favourite colour?

If I talk about colours, I like them all, without exception, but there is one that has a great emotional impact on me: That is red, due to its duality, it is a symbol of love and blood, it is pure energy in it.