Interview with Natacha Kadhija

About Natacha Kadhija

I was born in Brazil (Brasília-DF) in 1985. I am an artist, designer, illustrator, and writer. I started my career when I was 13 years old, making illustrations for a book from Unicef about Children's Rights. After that, I continued to develop my work as an artist and painter, making solo and collective exhibitions in different Galleries and countries, like Brazil, the United States, Hungary, Italy, England, Germany, Switzerland, Iceland, Spain, etc.

My work as an artist is influenced by surrealism and cubism, but also by contemporary art, building my style. And my studies of philosophy, symbology, psychology, sculpture, art and design history, museology, music, dance, etc., contribute to make a diversified work.

I graduated in Industrial Design and Fashion Design. I worked in these fields, making logo designs, publications, books for different publishers (from the United States, Brazil, Spain, and Italy), and costume designs for a theatre group.

What artistic discipline do you work?

Today, I continue to work with paintings, and also with digital art, NFTs, and Crypto Art.

How would you define your work?

I think that I always try to translate my own feelings and impressions of life with the contemporary world, mixing everything to create my own style, which can have an impact and resonate with others.

Any influence in your personal environment?

There are a lot of musicians in my family. And actually, my work is influenced by music, even my rhythm to get inspired and connected to art, so music plays a big role in my life.

Tell us about your last work “Color Invasion I”

“Color invasión I” is a painting (Acrylic on Canvas) that opens my last painting series, called “Color Invasion”. This series is important to me, because it shows the colors as protagonists, showing their value in different contexts, having nature as a representation of the use of colors in an intense way. My culture and origin, coming from Brazil, have a huge influence on my work and this series, also because of nature, being colorful, fun, and ludic, also connected to imagination, creating different effects.

Do you participate in art competitions?

Yes, of course. I have some awards from art competitions. I won one that was called "Artist of the Year" given by a respected cultural magazine called "Bravo!". I also have some awards from Art institutions, like the Circle Foundation for the Arts, in France, which gave me an "Artistic Excellence" award, and Artavita, from the United States. An award was given to me by the model Gisele Bündchen because of a painting that I made to represent the model on her website. And recently, I won an award called “Voices of Tomorrow”, from a cultural online magazine (Contemporary Art Curator) and also an award called “Women’s essence”, given by Musa International Art Space.

Is it easy to be an artist? How long does it take you to complete a work?

It’s not easy but is essential. I can’t imagine my life without art. Even if I’m not creating something, I need to at least interact with it in some way. Today, I’m also making digital art, which can be faster, even as a mixed media, between digital art and my paintings.  I don’t like to measure time, because I’m usually working on other things at the same time, but I think that my paintings take more time to be made, because of the ink layers, the details, and the size of the paintings, so I think that a painting can take, like until 1 month to be made.  

What feedback do you get from the public?

During my career, of more than 20 years, I’ve had amazing experiences as an artist. Making exhibitions and seeing the public’s reactions, talking directly with them, and receiving great feedback. Also, I believe that art can be used to heal other people in different ways, so I also received feedback related to that. And traveling to different places in the past, I learned a lot about other cultures and ways that people react to my work, which was great for me, to learn and evolve. So, I’m also thankful to them.

Any curious about yourself?

I graduated in Industrial Design and Fashion Design. And I also studied piano and other creative mediums. So, I believe that I like to have other studies and experiences in creative fields, to have a bigger reach and a bigger understanding of what I want and like as an artist. 

Have you exhibited your works?

You can see my curriculum at https://www.natachakadhija-art.com/biography

But here are my exhibitions:

Solo Exhibitions

2002 - "Natacha Kadhija"- 215 North, Plano Piloto - Brasília-DF (Brazil);

2003 - "The Transition of the Art and of the Human Being- My vision, now "- Art Gallery of Pátio Brasil Shopping - Brasília-DF(Brazil); Cultural Space of Siciliano’s Bookstore - Brasília-DF(Brazil); Quo Vadis Cafe - Brasília-DF (Brazil).

2006 - "Fragments" - Livraria Cultura (Culture Bookstore), Casa Park Shopping -Brasília-DF (Brazil).

2007 - "Aesthetics and Reflections" - UPIS Space of Art and Culture – Brasília/DF (Brazil).

Collective Exhibitions

2007/2008 - "Natacha Kadhija" - 1st Biennial of Arts of Brasília – UPIS Space of Art and Culture - Theme: Liberty of Expression (Brasília-DF- Brazil);

2008 - Collective Exhibition by International Artists (representing Brazil in the two stages: July 1st and July 20)- Opera Gallery - Budapest – Hungary;

2009 - Exhibition/Project "Mille artisti a Palazzo" - Palazzo Arese Borromeo (World Museum, in Cesano Maderno) with the curator Luciano Caramel and the idealization of Fiorenzo Barindelli - Milan- Italy;

2009 - The Art of Peace General Exhibit & Arrigo Musti Exhibition – Dayton International Peace Museum – Dayton-Ohio –USA;

2009 - Collective Exhibition - World Wide View – Opera Gallery – Budapest – Hungary;

2009/2010 - “Natacha Kadhija – 2nd Biennial of Arts of Brasília – UPIS – Theme: The Time (Brasília-DF-Brazil);

2010 - “A Book About Death” – Mube: Museu Brasileiro da Escultura (Brazilian Museum of Sculpture) – Original Project: Matthew Rose; Curator: Angela Ferrara – São Paulo- SP – Brazil;

2010 - Project 10X15=150 " Crisis with my eye"– Juessey Art Gallery –Reykjanesbær - Iceland;

2011 - “Drawing Connections” - Siena Art Institute – Siena – Italy;

2012 - “Art in Mind - Layers” – Brick Lane Gallery - London – England;

“Art in Mind - Symmetry” – Brick Lane Gallery – London – England;

2012 - “Artists at Home & Abroad” – Broadway Gallery (NY) – New York- USA;

2013 - Art Biennial of Frankfurt am Main (B3 Biennial of the Moving Image) – Germany;

2020 - "See Me's Art Takes Armory - S/he persisted" - New York - USA;2020 - The Other Art Fair Los Angeles - Online Studios (Saatchi Art) - USA; Also selected for the "New Pop Artist Collection";

Partnerships with Artbox.Project and Artboxy, exhibiting paintings on the digital screen:

2020 - Artbox.Project - Zurich - Switzerland;

2021 - Artbox.Project - Valid World Hall - Barcelona -Spain;

2021 - Artbox.Project - Swiss Art Expo  - Zürich - Switzerland;

2022 - Artbox.Project World 2.0 - Urbanside Gallery - Zürich - Switzerland;

2022 - Artbox.Project - Tana Art Space - Biennale Artbox Expo - Venice - Italy;

2022 - Artbox.Project - Swiss Art Expo - Zürich - Switzerland;

2022 - Artbox.Project - Casa Del Arte - Palma de Mallorca - Spain;

2022 - Artbox.Project - Miami (during Art Basel Week) - United States;

2023 - Artboxy - Art Lab Gallery - Los Angeles - United States;

2023 - Tokyo Tower Art Fair (represented by Artavita - USA) - Tokyo - Japan.

What advice would you give to artists with a creative blocke?

I think art is really about self-knowledge and trying to establish a connection with yourself and the world. So, if you have some blockage, sometimes is good to take some time to connect with yourself, research new languages, understand your affinities, and be lighter with your intentions to create. Because pressure doesn’t work well. Focus is important, but not negativity or frustration. Art should be fluid and natural. Is all about being yourself.  

Where can we follow your work?

I like Instagram. I think Instagram is very visual, so for artists like me, I believe is the best social media.

Website: www.natachakadhija-art.com/home-english

Instagram: @natachakadhijaart