Baltasar Portillo

I was born in El Salvador, at the age of 11 I left El Salvador to pursue my education in the United States. I attended prep school, and college there, but I always knew that I would return to my home country after finishing my education. I studied economics and management, and after graduation I returned to El Salvador to try and contribute somehow in my country's development. After more than a decade of working in the financial sector of El Salvador, I decided to pursue my life’s passion; Art and furniture. I grew up around Sergio Rodriguez, Eames, Sarinen, Nelson and Risom scattered around my parents house and office, when it was considered normal furniture. In my country most furniture then was baroque, therefore, 50’s, and 60’s design somehow caught my interest. I undusted the old furniture stored in a warehouse at my father’s office and took it to my apartment. I got myself a welder and taught myself how to weld and began a life project creating limited edition furniture. Currently, I still live in El Salvador, but spend seasons in London, my wife’s home town. I have been doing furniture for almost two decades now and will continue doing it as long as I live. In the meantime I became member of the Furniture Society of North America, and was selected for their Annual Exhibition at ICFF in New York City. I have built over 100 pieces of furniture in my career, and every single one is different. Recently I was shortlisted for the Biennal de Diseno Iberoamericano in Madrid, Spain where I obtained an honorable mention with the “Armadillo Chair”. I love what I do and it is a life compromise. ABOUT MY WORK I am interested in the intersection of Art and Function through the development of sculptural furniture. The intersection of art and design is a fine line.The process of creating an art piece is similar to the process of creating a studio furniture piece. As a sculptor chooses a medium to create an art piece, a maker chooses his medium -in my case metal. The process of creation is spontaneous, although a central idea might exist, the element of spontaneity is present. There is no pre-designing before building the piece therefore the element of accident becomes an asset. The concept of the piece is also the central element rather than the function itself. In my case it has been transparency, which enables the perception of the space as you see through the objects. Interaction with light it is also a key element as the structures create interesting shadows patterns as they dialogue with light. Finally comes the function of the piece, which I call interaction of the piece. Once interaction is achieved the piece becomes complete. Each piece is built in the studio and even when the edition exceeds more than one, each piece is slightly different as measurements may differ slightly.