Art Madrid'25 – INTERVIEW WITH: SEÑORA D A.K.A LARA PADILLA

Sra. D, a.k.a Lara Padilla

The work of Sra. D, a.k.a Lara Padilla, encompasses disciplines such as painting, sculpture, dance, performance and fashion design. Her mostly figurative pieces draw attention to female power representation through the deformation of the body and the use of colour and textures. A vindication of gender exhibited through large hands as powerful instruments of battle or heavy feet, an image of the perseverance of women in their struggle. Sra D. understands art not as a silent showcase but as a path of political action and intervention. Her aesthetic is an ode to diversity, portraying all types of bodies to promote a look of equality and authenticity.

Her performances dialogue face to face with his pictorial and sculptural creation through the similarity between compositions and trajectories. The use of body painting underlines the plastic aspect of his choreographies, while in his urban actions, he insists on this reflection on the construction of identity conceived as belief. However, the female body is not a prison for Sra. D. In her latest creations she has expanded her visual discourse by exploring African and pre-Columbian art, cultural chapters of great social and conceptual significance such as Genesis or the interaction of bodies with new supports and textures.

Lara Padilla

Black Tetris Magnum, 2021

Mixed media on canvas

400 x 300cm

Interview:

What inspires you when creating?

It can be an emotion, an image or a word; inspiration can come from anywhere. It inspires me a lot to travel, take pictures, and know new cultures. I think my painting is very experiential and is almost like a diary.

What are you working on recently?

I'm still working on the "tetrix" series, which I think still has a universe to explore. And in parallel, I am working with various characters in different contexts and with everyday scenes telling other types of stories. I also continue to work with movement and dance.

Tell us about your creative process.

The first thing I address about my creative process is the background of the work. I create a very free colour atmosphere and work with pigments, collage and different techniques to create a fracture in the work. From there, I create the composition that I have in sketch or photography. The case of the "tretix" is ​​much more experimental; I create a character and what I do is play. I fit in all the others and conquer all the space.

Are you participating for the first time in the fair? What do you expect from Art Madrid?

About my participation, what I hope is to be able to show my work, which is what I am most passionate about, with great enthusiasm. Also, meet other artists, nourish me with all that creativity and enjoy the fair.

Lara Padilla

Purple Tetris, 2021

Mixed media on canvas

170 x 170cm

Currently, your artistic expression is not limited to a discipline or a medium. How is Sra. D (not Lara Padilla) projected in the next five years?

Sra. D is projected in the next five years as a more experienced and mature artist. What I really value is the work of every day; I think this is a life career. It's what I do, work every day in the studio. From here, I will always find myself, and I will not be the one to set limits for myself.

Your work is mainly figurative and representative. What do you find in figuration that doesn't give you abstraction?

My work is primarily figurative, although I also have some abstract pieces. But I am fascinated by the human body. I love to explore its limits. I create characters with impossible and disproportionate bodies, very expressive, proposing other models of being a man and a woman, and valuing diversity freedom. I also work with the body as supports on occasions, especially in street performance actions with performance and dance, and I use body painting to tell these stories.

Lara Padilla

Rainbow tangle, 2021

Mixed media on canvas

170 x 170cm

Sra.D, A.K.A Lara Padilla, participates in Art Madrid with the gallery from Barcelona 3 Punts Galeria, together with the artists Alejandro Monge, Gerard Mas, Kiko Miyares, Luis Feo, Rodrigo Romero, Santiago Picatoste and Ramon Surinyac.



THE CATALOG: ART MADRID'25. TWENTY YEARS CELEBRATING CONTEMPORARY ART.

Discover all the information about the artists and galleries participating in the 20th edition of Art Madrid. The catalog includes a selection of the works featured in this edition and all the event details, making it an excellent way to get to know its key figures.

Art Madrid’25 celebrates twenty years of commitment to contemporary art with a special edition that reaffirms its role as a key showcase for the national and international art scene. From March 5 to 9, 2025, the Galería de Cristal at the Palacio de Cibeles will once again become a meeting point for galleries, collectors, artists, and art lovers.

Over the past twenty years, Art Madrid has evolved into a dynamic and ever-expanding platform that promotes the diversity of artistic languages, techniques, and discourses. In its 20th edition, the fair presents a Gallery Program featuring a carefully selected group of national and international exhibition spaces, alongside a Parallel Program focused on the City Territory, with activities that encourage dialogue, experimentation, and reflection on contemporary art.

We invite you to explore more about Art Madrid in the catalog of its 20th edition.