6 QUESTIONS WITH MAURICIO KOLENC
In this interview, the Uruguayan woodturning artist discusses the balance between functionality and aesthetics, emphasizing how practicality enhances artistic expression and cultural influences shape his work.
Exploring the Craft of Mauricio Kolenc: An Insight into woodturning in Uruguay
1. How do you usually start your day? Is there any type of music you enjoy listening to in the early morning that motivates or inspires you?
My day begins in total silence, caressing cats and drinking mate—it’s my moment of greatest peace, during which I reflect on what I will do throughout the day. My processes are, in every aspect, so distinct from one another that they range from moving logs weighing 250 kilograms, reading them, and cutting them with a chainsaw, to the delicate finishing of a piece just 3mm thick. The music accompanies me depending on the stage of the process and my mood, ranging from Bossa Nova to Norwegian black metal, with tango in between. I enjoy the process so much that often I choose to simply listen to the sound of the sharpened tool cutting, achieving a state of absolute abstraction.
2.How do you balance the functionality of your pieces with their artistic aesthetics?
90% of my work is non-functional. In the remaining pieces, I apply my obsessive study of form, combined with ergonomics and functionality, striving to ensure that, above all, they are beautiful objects.
3. What message do you hope to convey through your work?
Calm. Just as I need peace and calm to function and restart my endless and cyclical emotional-creative processes, I seek for my work to convey calmness to those who view it, creating an irresistible desire to contemplate, admire, explore, and touch it. My creative processes are complex and often noisy in stages, involving significant physical effort. If calm is not present as a result or reward, starting over becomes increasingly exhausting.
4. What are the most significant influences that have shaped your style as a woodturning artist in Uruguay?
I believe that growing up in isolation regarding woodturning, particularly in the pre-Internet and social media era, has shaped me and made my work and techniques unique. On several occasions, American colleagues have pointed out how different my techniques are, emphasizing that my pieces are easily recognizable as my own.
5. Could you share a personal experience that has represented a key challenge in your artistic career?
Being selected as an international demonstrator by the AAW (American Association of Woodturners) allowed me to travel to various places and meet artists and their works that I had only known through photographs until that moment. I was able to appreciate and inspect in detail collections that I am now part of, and for the first time, my work was evaluated by a curator specialized in the field.
6. What role do your cultural roots play in the narrative of your creations?
Culturally, skateboarding from the '80s and '90s, along with hardcore punk, has shaped who I am today as a person and creator. Expressing what one feels—regardless of how difficult or complex that may be—is essential. It’s about falling and getting back up a thousand times to keep trying and doing things on your own. Another major influence is my interaction with nature, both in terms of form and the patience and methodical approach required in my processes, as well as my communion with the material wood.
