By Gavin Giem & Lola Marks
Contemporary artist Karlos Gil led a workshop titled “Reclaiming the Future,” offering students an inside look into his creative process while sharing his broader philosophy on art and its role in society.
Gil opened the session with a simple yet powerful question: “What’s the relationship between you and art?” For him, art emerges directly from personal experience and understanding. “I’m always translating my knowledge and experience into something tangible, something material,” he explained, describing his practice as a blend of past and future. His work is deeply rooted in research and investigation, often taking long periods of development. “My work is quite archive-based, research-based. I do a lot of investigations, and it takes me a lot of time to develop a project.”
Rather than following a fixed method, Gil emphasized uncertainty as a vital creative force. “I don’t have a specific path to follow,” he said, highlighting how unpredictability allows ideas to grow freely. For Gil, embracing risk is central to the artist’s role in society. “Our responsibilities in society, as artists, are to take risks. This is the most important value of an artist.”
The conversation later shifted toward imagination, which Gil described as “one of the most powerful weapons we have… our interface between our inner self and the world.” He contrasted human creativity with machines, noting that “a machine doesn’t face problems—never.” This idea led naturally to the core theme of the workshop: the concept of the shelter. For Gil, a shelter is something that protects but also confronts the problems we face. “Which problems do you want to solve?” he asked, encouraging students to see art as a response to the challenges of their time.
Pushing boundaries to face and solve new problems
Gil stressed the importance of constantly pushing boundaries in order to face new problems. As he explained, humans create new challenges every day, and artists must remain flexible in their thinking. He views his own work as “a shelter between several things,” a space where past knowledge actively informs future possibilities.
Following this conceptual introduction, students moved into the hands-on portion of the workshop. Using clay, cardboard, tape, markers, and toothpicks, they were asked to create their own interpretation of a shelter. Some students designed house-like structures, others built dioramas inspired by Madrid’s metro stations, and one group even created a purse. As they worked, Gil walked around the room, engaging in one-on-one conversations, discussing ideas, and answering individual questions.
At the end of the creative session, each group presented their project, explaining what they had created and the meaning behind it. The diversity of responses reflected the openness of the concept and the personal nature of each student’s interpretation.
By the conclusion of the workshop, Gil had inspired students to reflect more deeply on their relationship with art. He reinforced the idea that art is not a fixed goal, but an evolving process shaped by curiosity, risk-taking, and openness to change. More than a creative exercise, the workshop offered students a new way of understanding their role as artists in a constantly changing world.
Students left not only with small sculptures, but with a renewed sense of possibility—aware that their own “shelters,” like their ideas, can grow and change along with them.