Daniela Achoyan
- Aug 12
- 3 min read
Daniela Achoyan is a self-taught painter in Buenos Aires who worked in graphic design for years before painting full time. She works almost only with a brush, on large canvases laid flat on the floor, and paints each series to a single album on repeat. Her latest was made to Rosalía's LUX. The titles come from what she reads in the studio, alchemy, tarot, and Hermeticism, which she treats as part of the work. Her paintings showed with Galería Azur in Uruguay this year, though she didn't travel with them, and she is looking to exhibit more outside Argentina.
Q: Last time we spoke, you were pushing the possibilities of brushwork. Where has that taken you since?
A: The exploration of brushwork and the different possibilities that tools, specifically brushes, offer in relation to the density of the medium is something I continue to practice and explore. I rarely use any tool other than the brush, so this journey feels eternal and infinite. It is something to keep exploring forever.
Q: You paint on the floor, on large formats, sometimes dancing while you work. Has a painting ever come out of a specific song or piece of music?
A: I must confess that the latest series I have been finishing was painted entirely to the same album: "LUX" by Rosalía. I honestly think it is a masterpiece. I love the idea of an album that has a strong sense of a cohesive work, because in a way, it resembles the concept of a series in painting.
Therefore, I like to accompany each series with a specific album. It can be very repetitive, it is true, and I have listened to other things, but I always started my studio sessions with "LUX" during this latest collection.
Q: Your titles, "KARUN," "KUBERA," "FECUNDA," "GRACIA," feel like names more than descriptions. How do they arrive?
A: Currently, the titles of my paintings are associated with the intersection between the energy of the artwork and my spiritual path. I consider painting a practice of self-knowledge. Confronting the canvas means confronting myself: facing my fears and anxieties. It is an alchemical space where I work on myself while working on the painting; I can transform myself through it. Whenever I am in the studio, I am in contact with myself. At the same time, I read and research ancestral occult knowledge such as alchemy, tarot, Kabbalah, and Hermeticism.
These teachings nourish me, help me deepen my personal growth, and eventually find their translation in the practice and daily work of the studio.
Q: This year you showed with Galería Azur. How was it, taking the work to Uruguay?
A: The paintings traveled, but I did not. Even so, it was a major goal for me to continue expanding my borders and to have my work exhibited outside of Argentina. Azur is a top-tier gallery with years of experience and locations in some of the most prominent countries in the art world. Their space in Uruguay is just beginning its journey, and it is a pleasure to accompany them with my work during these first years in Uruguay.
Q: Beauty as a revolutionary act was one of the strongest ideas from our last conversation. Does a painting ever fail that standard for you, and what happens then?
A: Perhaps this is one of my greatest battles—a search for autonomy where I lack absolute control. I always seek beauty.
Naturally, my painting often fails to meet that standard, and that is precisely where the process of confronting oneself and one's frustrations in the studio begins. The canvas becomes a question: how far do we allow ourselves to be kind and give ourselves the chance to fail as many times as necessary without letting it frustrate us? When a work fails, the battle shifts from the physical medium to an exercise in internal resistance and, with luck, compassion. Working through the error in a painting is, ultimately, learning to work through my own limits.
Q: What's ahead for the rest of the year?
A: To be honest, planning ahead in Argentina can be quite difficult. Currently, I am balancing many things at once: opening doors and creating contacts abroad, working intensely in the studio, trying to develop my print store with more strength, and seeking partnerships and collaborations internationally. However, what I truly desire most in the world is to eventually be able to plan a year where I can dedicate myself not only to painting but to studying, attending a workshop, or undertaking an artist residency. I want to expand the dialogue and the exchange with other artists.
