Interview Juan González Iglesias

Can you tell me about your background and how it influences your work?

Basically, my artwork is a painted diary of a spiritual journey. You can see every stage on the artworks. It started when I had a sort of spiritual awakening, when I was 29, I believe. Since that moment some sort of “transcendental sensation” started to “take care” of me. At the same time, it was when the world started to collapse. It was in 2008,
when the big world crisis started. I’m afraid God (or call it whatever) realized I won’t be able to handle the vibrations that
were going to take place on Earth. So it took me “out of the game” in order to be as far as I could from those nasty vibrations; but they were everywhere, you know. You just couldn’t escape from them. It was the same everywhere. My only hope was that “playful feeling” that was guiding me every time, constantly. It was a deep calling. I just was attracted to that sensation, like a moth to a lightbulb. I understood that calling was “God” or “Christ”. I was moved to read spiritual texts, the
Bible, everything that had something to do with Transcendence. So for quite a lot of time I only painted christian crosses and lines that remind to tribal shapes. Everything I painted was inspired by that sensation. I just was decoding what I was feeling. And everything pointed to the same place: God, Christ, Transcendence, however you wanna call it.
At the same time, I had the feeling that “my mission” those years just was “transmuting low energies”, from my environment and specially from my family. So, sadly, I got in touch with all the low vibrations that were hidden to that point. But that wasn’t only happening in my life: everything was the same in the world. I just was doing my part of the job. Mixing the lowest with the highest in order to make something useful with all that dirt. And the result was my artwork, for the most part. I was a transmuter for quite a lot of years. So the evolution of my artwork is just the evolution of that journey. Colors, mystical shapes mixed with dirt. Christian crosses mixed with pop material stuff. A continuous mix between the high and the low.
I followed that sensation I call God painting crosses constantly, like if that was my target, my aim. I was constantly called by the cross. I didn’t know where that was going to lead me. Until one day, when everything happened: the end of the journey.
A profound and extreme experience happened to me one day. It was like “going through the human ego”. I would say I found the famous forth or fifth dimension, everybody talks about that. And, well, deep inside me my feeling was “finally I made it”. I was happy as I
never was in my life. I think that, deep inside me, I knew that was the only aim of the journey. I spent several days among big revelations about how existence works and, well, those were the happiest days of my life. Believe it or not. My head just exploded, let’s say. And tons of new info came inside me. And this event was around me for months. And those months my art experimented an explosion of colors and new shapes. If the journey was about “the calling of God”, this stage was “the achievement of the mission”. God leaded me to that moment, I was able to perceive finally what he wanted to tell me but I wasn’t ready. And what we could call “my real me” was born.
So, well, as you can see my influences are completely ethereal. I’ve been just painting what God was telling me day after day. That’s all my “influences”: God telling me stuff. About regular influences… Before everything happened I was an advertising creative.
And my life was cool things. I was a coolhunter too. So, leaving the spiritual thing aside, my thing is pop stuff. Comics, video games, fashion, pop music, trends, TikTok, YouTube, movies… My artwork is just a mix between “what God was telling me” with the pop stuff I love. Like God seen through a modern window.

Which artists have had the greatest influence on your work?

The artists I really admire are, basically, some underground comic artists. Peter Bagge, creator of the series Hate, born in New Jersey. Probably this is my favorite artist of all time. I really admire him.
Also Robert Crumb, most well known, an American comic artist from the hippy days. He talks the truth too. Basically, I love the artists that say the truth the most. I also love Ralf König, German, he draws gay comics. Just comedy with gay main characters. I find him quite brilliant. About Spanish underground authors, I’d choose Mauro Entrialgo and Álvarez Rabo. Two great names with exceptional personal styles. I know all these authors thanks to an extinct underground Spanish magazine, El Víbora. I also love James Rolfe, also from New Jersey, YouTube artist. He speaks the truth quite a lot too. And his stuff is about video games, which I love.
And, well, finally, the Bruguera style. From my childhood. The comics that were popular in Spain when I was a kid. All my generation is shaped by them. Francisco Ibáñez, Escobar, Jan… Bruguera was the publisher of a lot of authors that created a unique Spanish style. And it lives deep inside me.

Share your favorite medium with us.

Personally, I love just pen and paper. Marker, cardboard. Something simple, not pretentious. I feel comfortable with them. I used other mediums, canvas, acrylic paint, oil, etc. And I believe they are quite ok, I don’t have any problem with them. But my core is about paper and ink, in my childhood I used to draw comics and I felt comfortable with that. No color, just that. I believe that’s what lies deep inside me, after all. But I like to use all the mediums around me. I like humble regular stuff: things that you can find easily at home. I believe that’s more beautiful, not pretentious. The highest concepts must be said in a simple way. No vanity, just the stuff the easiest way you can say it. I believe that’s what mastery is about.
But, in any case, I admire all new creators: video game youtubers, TikTok dancers… I’d love to be a TikTok dancer. I really would.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Well, I’m afraid the freaking spiritual journey came to an and. And it took around 15 years, so… More than ok with me. I’m pretty tired of being an outsider, an underdog. So I guess the “spiritual inspiration” is over. So what remains is what I learnt all these years and what lives deep inside me for years, probably my old comics from my childhood. I don’t know, I don’t think when I draw; I just do it. And lately the “tribal shapes” and the crosses and the spiritual thing just faded. And I’m painting comic characters. That’s what comes from inside me currently. Oh, an interesting fact: the spiritual thing said goodbye the very same day Donald Trump came to power. So I’m afraid that was God driven. And it doesn’t surprise me; I was painting all these years quotes like “ABSOLUTE POWER” and stuff like that. Don’t get me wrong, I vote the far left: but all these years taught me that what happens in the world is just a material metaphor of what happens in the ethereal world. I guess all the evil, arrogance and vanity that was hidden under the carpet had to manifest. And this is a good thing: people was just trying to pretend they didn’t exist. Well, they do. And we can see it clearly now. The only way to defeat it is being radically good. No grey points: doing the right thing no matter what. The ultimate evil only can be defeated by the ultimate good. Personally, I was able to do that in my final stage of the journey. It’s super hard and it requires a true strength of spirit. That’s what I was moved to learn these years, you know. Meanwhile, people was just trying to deny evil. Maybe that way it would fade… Well, it didn’t. But I already made it. Now it’s the time for the rest of the people. If I can help with my knowledge… Cool. But I’m afraid my learning is over. If someone wants to ask how to do it… I’m afraid I can help with that.

Describe how important art is for society.

Well, probably it’s key. The most important thing. I mean, true art; things that tell the truth. Nice fancy good looking things are useless.
Art captures what is in the ethereal world, the highest vibrations. Abstract things. That’s the future, what will become into material things with years. But art takes and show the vibrations in their purest form. So art should be the most respected activity in the world.
It brings what in brand new. Then, people will get in touch with them and will create products, ideas, formulas… But art is the vibration in its purest form. The root of everything. So it should be something very protected. People does the opposite, they protect money and don’t care about art. Humanity is a very, very small race for know…
They are way too fascinated with the material world. They didn’t learn to work efficiently as a whole yet.

How do you define success as an artist?

Well, first of all, you have to be able to express what’s deep inside you. Dig until you feel “you made it”. That’s what I felt in my final spiritual stage. That should be the only aim for a while, finding yourself, letting your true self born. That’s what art is for: developing your real self.
And, after that, making money with it, of course. Being successful in a regular way. Frankly, I’m pretty happy with the first half of the mission. I really made it. Purely and strictly. But, sincerely, if I don’t make money with it from now on I would feel it as a failure. I want the money, I can tell you that. I want to make something material with all my ethereal work. I worked very hard to release my true self.
But if you make money without doing the first part, everything is pointless. Empty. You are just cheating yourself. If you just want the money, forget art. Just buy crypto, or work for a bank, or sell luxury cars, I don’t know. Many things are made just for the money. So being successful in art, for me, is being true to yourself until you find what are you looking for and, after that, making money with that. But if one of the two parts doesn’t exist, it’s just a failure. I made the first one properly. Let’s see if I can make the second. But this could be said for any other activity. First, do the inner job. When it’s done, do the outer job. In that order. That’s how things are done. The rest is fake and pointless, I’m afraid. And the world is suffering for all this superficiality. So many successful people realizing how empty is their life at the end of it… “Oh, how wrong I was. How empty I feel now”. Well, that’s because you made it upside down. Start with the truth and build your life on that. Don’t build your life on denying the truth. I think it’s quite obvious…

Does art help you in other areas of life?

Well, it does. It's my personal way of expression. As you may guess, I can't find many people to talk about transcendence, God, how the universe works, how to wake up your true self… It's not easy, sadly. So I use art to express myself. Not explicitly, implicitly. My artworks are me, basically. I can't express anything but me. Well, if some ethereal sensation or feeling is very present in me I also express it, you know. But art is basically my core way of growth. Anyway, don't get me wrong: after so many years of living a spiritual life, being “a man on a mission” I miss regular stuff. Hanging out with friends, doing regular things… Probably all the knowledge I got these years will come out naturally doing those regular activities. That's how it must be done, you know. Naturally. Everything must come naturally. If it doesn't it's fake so it's not valid.

How do you develop your artistic skills?

I just don't. I don't believe you have to shape yourself. That's something stupid that uses to happen in arts. You'll never achieve anything higher than yourself. From a strict point of view, there's nothing higher than yourself. You can fake it, of course, but that's pointless. The trick is expressing yourself, watching yourself growing, even when it can be seen as “ugly” or “imperfect”. Well, “imperfect” for who? Who made that rules? And why are them so important?
You'll never achieve anything greater than what God created, and He created you. Life is a journey of realizing what you are. So just let it happen. I have so, so many “ugly” artworks. So many. But I post them all on Instagram, they are equally important as the “beautiful” ones. They are part of you, or part of a process of discovery. So I “develop my artistic skills” just drawing. Sometimes the result is “beautiful”, sometimes is “ugly”. But it's always me. It's all about me, like a flower blooming or a tree growing. It just happens. A flower or a tree doesn't develop their artistic skills, they just
happen.

How can your work influence social problems?

Well, I'd love it did. Almost every problem on the planet would be solved with some spiritual development. I mean, politics, wars, the root of all those issues are the illusion of separation. Me and my team are the good guys and you and your team are the bad guys. I believe defeating you will make good prevail and you believe the same. Nobody thought that, perhaps, we are pieces of the same machine and understanding the role of the other in the whole game would make things work properly. Without war, without fights. Graciously and beautifully. But, hey, nobody wants to listen to this. They are too focused on “defeating the other” without realizing that we all have what the other lacks.
We complete each other. But, well, you see the world, you know: it's like the right wheels of the car fighting the left wheels. They didn't even saw that both sides are necessary to make the car work. But… They just don't want to listen. This thought is too “advance”, believe it or not. So, yeah, I'd love to make some social impact. But probably they would crucify me for saying that both sides of the car are equally important. So… What can I say…

How do you navigate the professional art industry?

Virtually. I want to do everything from the smartphone. I hate physical exhibitions. I mean, shipping the stuff, attending the people… I don't know. I believe that's too much. Besides, we do everything from the smartphone now. We buy, we read the news, everything. I believe art is specifically good for this kind of virtual life. An exhibition in a virtual space is much better than a traditional exhibition for my taste. Maybe a physical one would be cool for some great milestone or something. Maybe for a great event. But not for a regular exhibition. Metaverse is perfect for this: no cost, everything from your coach, you can buy easily… I believe physical exhibitions must be for great events. And metaverse for regular stuff.
So I don't know… I get in touch with galleries using Instagram and no much more. I write emails, I send JPGs… I believe this way is pretty convenient. The physical world is the luxury nowadays. The virtual one is cheaper, more convenient and more efficient. I'm pretty comfortable with it. But, hey, if I get super famous and super rich I'd like to do two or three physical exhibitions. Something specially cool. But I'd like to make some super cool metaverse exhibitions also.

What parts of professional art do you like most and least?

The most, I like to get in touch with people that get some things. I miss hanging around with some cool intelligent people, you know. That was kind of my life before the spiritual stuff happened. These years I've been surrounded by people that… Well, they don't get anything. It's quite frustrating. I miss being understood by people “like me”, if you know what I mean. I'm tired of being an one man army.
The least… Well, perhaps realizing that some people are not as brilliant as you could expect. And that's quite a deception often. But it happens in every area of life. Not only in arts

What do critics and collectors say about your work?

I was lucky enough to find some galleries that seem to like what I do. I almost can't believe it at this point.
I believe my artwork, unintentionally, is quite original. As I told you, I don't follow any art trends, I just do what comes to me naturally. So I'm afraid that makes my stuff a bit unique. “Original”, “provocative”, “expressive” may be some adjectives. But that's not my intention. I just do my thing. I'd like to express more deeply the spiritual background that is behind everything, but step by step.

What factors influence the price of your work?

I took the price as another part of my personal expression. When I started, the prices were low and, since I was growing and valuating my own energy I started to rise them.
The price is just another part of the artwork now. It helps to how the artwork is perceived. But I don't cheat: I fix the price that I feel it's right, sincerely. When they were low, they said “rise them”. When I rised them, they said “low them”. So I stopped listening. I just fix the price I feel right and stopped thinking of it. They drove me a bit mad, frankly.

What are your ultimate career goals?

Sincerely, at this point, making money. I'm satisfied with my work at this point. Before reaching that “big spiritual event” I told you about, my aim was finding myself, letting my true self rise, even when I didn't even know it. After that, I felt “my job was done”. Inside, I feel completed, rich. I made the spiritual work I always dreamt of but never was able to do. I really feel proud of myself, I don't feel that “imposter syndrome” everyone talks about. But I didn't cheat, I didn't deny it, as people use to do. I just kept working until I felt it was over.
So now I just want money. I don't have any existential urge inside. I have all my deep transcendental questions answered. I'm not running away from myself, I feel fulfilled.
Giving an answer to this existential urge was the task of the last 15 years and I succeeded. And that's great, but now I don't have a penny. I spent all my energy on this. I built a true base for my life, contrary to what people do. They just go for the money and forget the, well, the true meaning of life. It's just too hard. I can tell you.
So now my career goals are the same of anyone else: being as big and influential and wealthy as I can. The only difference is the base I build my life on: I'm building it on my real self. Not on my ego.

How do you manage work-life balance as an artist?

I learnt a couple of things these years, as you may guess. And one big rule of universe is the preservation of energy. It means being as efficient as you can. If you have to push you too hard, that's not the way. So I just try to stay true to what I feel inside. I do art when I feel like it and the work… Well, I can't do anything about it. If I have to go, I just have. When I “came back to civilization” I just found a job easy enough to get some money with the less spend of energy. And I just follow that path. If making money requires too much energy it's not worth it. The point would be getting the more money I can from art and stop doing any other job. So I guess I have a good balance, since I survive without spending too much energy on it. But now the aim is getting more money from my energy, my true energy. Not my ego's. When the “big spiritual event” happened, my true energy was born in this world, let's say. Until that point it only lived in an etheral realm. And when it “was born” it was like a little baby, small, weak and crying all day long. Now it's stronger and can live inside this heavy world better day by day. So the aim now is making my material life more comfortable day by day without betraying my true energy. The balance is done, now I need to make it more wealthy. But it's quite balanced. I just want more. Bigger and better.

What would you like to say to other artists?

“Just quit!” No, I'm joking. Be true to yourself. Don't cheat. Art is important for your personal development, it's not only a business. Make it s business when you feel it's true. Not before. Oh, and this one: the famous imposter syndrome it's just basic decency. If you feel you don't deserve it, it's probably because you don't. People that don't feel the imposter syndrome are the true imposters. This world is almost completely fake. You feel like an imposter because you probably are one. Don't be like them, have integrity. Don't silent that voice that says “you are not good enough”. That's your conscience. And it's telling the truth: you are not good enough yet. Keep on working until the voice says “hey, now is time.”
They are the imposters, not you. You are a decent human being. Don't cheat. Don't charge for something that you don't deeply respect. They are all cheaters. They don't listen to their conscience, they listen to the farce. So they don't build anything valuable. They just want to pretend. They only want to be approved by other cheaters. Don't be like them. We have enough of those.