Angel Song in Conversation with Daniel Roibal
Daniel Roibal is a talented young artist hailing from Mallorca, Spain, now continuing his artist journey in London, UK, where he is pursuing Fine Arts at Chelsea College of Arts. With a unique style that seamlessly blends abstract art with his personal touch, Daniel navigates the art scene with remarkable individuality. Made In Bed is thrilled to bring you this captivating interview with Daniel, shedding light on his journey and creative process. His work has been in exhibitions including The Butterfly Effect at D Contemporary (2024), PANORAMA at Galería Fran Reus (2024), and London Paint Club (2023).
Daniel Roibal in his studio. Photo Courtesy: Angel Song.
Angel Song: What serves as the primary inspiration for your artworks, and what initially attracted you to the medium you work with?
Daniel Roibal: Well, the primary inspiration of my work is the process itself, is true that when I am out of the studio I love going to see other artists exhibitions and feeling part of the community, which in London is massive and in constant change, motivates me to go and keep working in the studio. But once said that, for me the relationship I kept with each of my pieces during the process is very special, I think after the first mark on the canvas, is a conversation in which I feel some demands are coming from the painting that inspires me to find new ways of satisfying some demands and continue with the painting process.
Since I was a kid I have been attending painting classes some in some way I have always been familiar with the paint on canvas so my way to understand the contemporary art world has always been through painting, and as long as I keep discovering new painters, I feel fascinated by their work and I become more and more ambitious with my practice, so is like a continuous re-encounter with my work that keeps me highly related to it. And purely the feeling I have towards painting, when I see Albert Oehlen or Secundino Hernández painting, I feel goosebumps, there is no other explanation, it is a feeling that in some way is addictive, doesn’t have memory, you must look back at it to feel the beauty again, that totally traps me.
AS: Could you share some of the key literary works or interests that have significantly influenced your artistic journey?
DR: I have never been a huge reader if I am honest, but I am constantly reading poetry, I think it places somewhere where beauty is very relevant, rather than the subject matter of the poems I am interested in how they make me feel when I am in front of my works. Reading artists’ interviews has been always on my calendar, it’s always interesting to learn about other points of view of people who are in a similar position to you. But if I have to choose one, I would say music lyrics, as I spend a lot of time in the studio I always like to have music on, it helps me go into the painting mood and helps me concentrate on my work, usually I listen to reggaeton or Latin trap.
Daniel Roibal, Memorias. Photo Courtesy: Galería Fran Reus.
AS: As an international student, how do you navigate the dynamic art scene in London? What unique challenges or opportunities have you encountered?
DR: As a young art student, coming to London is like bringing a kid to Disneyland, the dynamism and pace that London has in general helps you to have a real sense of how this world works and what happens out there. Sometimes it is difficult to keep the rhythm, too many things happening at the same time can be a distraction from your own practice, so at some points you can feel “sick” of it, but once you find the balance the art scene in London is a great place to be.
Once you find yourself comfortable in the city there are a lot of people out there who can truly help develop your work, from other artists who level up the standard of the art scene and push you to work harder to curators and gallerists hungry for exciting projects. Something that helps artists is the large number of Open Calls for all kinds of disciplines you can find in the city, one of the projects I am more excited about is INCUBATOR, it is a huge opportunity for emerging artists to have a first contact with the gallery system, I think the level they keep is quite high and that works as inspiration for the next generation of artists in town.
AS: In your opinion, what are the creative advantages of pursuing formal education in the arts, particularly as you plan to pursue an MFA next year?
DR: I think the possibility of having feedback on your work is priceless, so finding a place where the communication of opinions and ideas flows is important for the evolution of an artist’s work at an early stage, sharing space with other creatives helps you open your mind and see your own work with many perspectives. As a painter, I plan to study painting at RCA next year and find the tools I need to keep growing with my work. Plus depending on where you study MFA, this is a huge observation point for gallerists, collectors, and curators and some exposure always helps to get your work to be seen.
AS: How have your personal background and life experiences informed the themes and styles present in your artwork?
DR: Well, I think since very young I have always been in any kind of relation to art from drawing classes to a lot of visits to museums and galleries during my childhood, so at some point painting for me is a theme itself rather than a medium to communicate any idea. Since I experienced the Japanese therapy called “Shinrin Yoku” which consists of a conscious walk in the forest, I was very interested in translating this language to my work, the fact of taking consciousness of what happening around us despite its complexity, being part of, I would say is the goal of my work.
Daniel Roibal, Una noche en Macao. Photo Courtesy: Daniel Roibal.
AS: Beyond your interest in contemporary art, you also seem to be engaged with its market. Could you elaborate on why understanding the art market is important to you as an artist?
DR: I think engaging with the market opens your mind a little bit, being able to see what is happening out there and what are the collectors and the public interested in is very important, see new techniques and new ways of understanding the same medium as you are using is crucial for the evolution as an artist. Personally, I think good artwork costs money, and prices and economic transactions are nothing that should be “taboo” talking about, producing art is very expensive, so why not get an economic benefit from it? When Drake sells his new album for X amount of money or Bad Bunny makes a huge benefit from a concert is well received, but in art, this concept of the market is not well received by everyone, which I don’t understand. Plus to be honest, if I don’t sell my painting, I won’t have economic resources to keep producing, and that’s my main priority as a painter.
AS: As a young artist who has participated in multiple exhibitions, what have been some of your notable experiences collaborating with galleries?
DR: Collaborating with people who appreciate your work is always nice, and as an internationally exhibited artist, seeing how people from different countries engage with your work, and getting feedback from them makes me keep improving with my pieces.
Seeing how my artworks work next to other artists or just out of the studio, on a different wall is something I really like, I have been lucky to work with some excellent curators and see how together with other artists we can build a beautiful story is a great reason to keep working hard in the studio.
Daniel Roibal in the studio. Photo Courtesy: Daniel Roibal.
AS: Looking forward, are there any new artistic formats or mediums that you're eager to explore further in your career? What draws you to these possibilities?
DR: Well for now I feel I have way more to explore within painting, so I will stick to it for a while more. But lately, I have been working on a few monumental scale pieces that allow me to explore differently my physical relation with the canvas, when I am painting I am a little bit lost I don’t really know where I am in the canvas, so place myself there takes a lot of walks back and forward from the canvas, I think as the structure is difficult to see, I am more focused on how the paint works on the surface, being able to pay attention and work on little subtleties who work really interesting for the viewer as the walk closer to the piece, reminds me of the show Robert Nava had in Pace Gallery in 2022, after being able to get close to the pieces I discovered a lot of details on the surface that were impossible to see from a certain distance or a photography.
Many thanks to Daniel Roibal on behalf of MADE IN BED.
To learn more about Daniel and his work, follow him on Instagram. To learn more about his exhibition at Galería Fran Reus, click the link above.
Angel Song
Interviews Co-Editor, MADE IN BED