Kima Guitart

Silk painter

©Kima Guitart

©Dipa Cavalli-Sforza

©RTVE Catalunya

©Mané Espinosa

©Lola Jane

Lady in silk

Kima has lived and travelled all over the world
She is inspired by aesthetics from different cultures
She loves the feeling of freedom that her craft gives her

When asked why she expresses herself through textile art, Kima Guitart’s response is very straightforward: “I am not sure if I chose this craft it or if I was chosen by it.” A lot has to do with a hand-painted scarf her brother gave as a present to her mother. "It was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen," she recalls. Her love story with painting on silk began in the 1970s first in Paris and then in Barcelona. "This material is the perfect canvas for me to paint," says Kima, as on it she can evoke remote territories and mysterious stories. Nature creates silk, and Kima is enthralled by its versatility and unicity. Painting on silk is a sort of active meditation for her. Her creations are part of her life and dreams, and she relates to them with love and gratitude.

Interview

©Mané Espinosa

©Kima Guitart

How has your travelling and studying in different parts of the world influenced your work?: Travelling and living in different parts of the world has given me perspective and distance about my own culture, valuing what is unique and original in each of the cultures I have encountered. This has allowed me for instance to blend my Mediterranean point of view with an oriental aesthetic.
Is the element of meditation important to you?: Yes, of course there is a basic oriental inspiration in all my work, although I try to make the result a synthesis between East and West. Meditation is also part of my daily life and many times I think that painting for me is a kind of active meditation.
What is your connection with silk?: Silk is a wonderful medium for my painting. I simply love it because it is eclectic, it can be matte, shiny, heavy or very light, stiff or sheer. In addition to these features, when painted, each surface reacts in a different way, so for me working with silk is interesting, rewarding and fun.
During the creative process do you like to imagine who could wear your scarves?: I do not follow trends, I design for all women. I like to imagine that once a piece is worn the personality of the wearer becomes part of it, and the other way around too.

Kima Guitart is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1971