The dark art genre sometimes exists outside of the mainstream art world. Has the intense and provocative nature of your work created any unique challenges for you in seeking gallery representation?

I was very lucky to arrive in a world already growing and established, when it comes to the international dark art scene. Locally in Paraguay, things are more conservative and I thought it would be more difficult, but strangely enough, it wasn’t. I like to think people can connect intellectually and emotionally to the work regardless of the darkness. Just yesterday I was offered a solo show at a major international cultural institution in Paraguay, which was crazy because it was out of nowhere.

You are an illustrator for genre works (horror/fantasy) and a gallery artist. How does your approach differ when creating a piece for a book cover or a heavy metal album versus one intended for a gallery showing?

My work is inspired by literature, so it’s practically the same, the only thing that changes is the medium as I grow more and more fond of traditional painting. Of course, the approval process is more straightforward for shows, but I enjoy the challenge of creating something out of the comfort zone. Illustration makes me better at communication with the world, while paintings for shows are more of a search of my own identity, looking inwards.

How do your other interests, such as tarot, inform or inspire your visual art?

The occult and magickal tradition has a rich system of symbols to process human experience and understand our own consciousness. My interest arose primarily from the illustrations of tarot and alchemical grimoires. I do a card reading for friends and myself once every month and see how it connects our own narratives.

Does the darkness you create emerge from a specific narrative you are telling, or is it more of a direct, pure expression of an emotion or mood?

It relates to my states of consciousness and my own identity. It’s also about rebellion against what we are told is “beautiful” — it’s a search for a new beauty, but it’s a search into an unknown territory.