Latin-Inspired Design by Marcela Cure: Eclectic Elegance
people • ARTISTS
Marcela Cure is an artist and interior designer from Barranquilla, Colombia, who, in addition to designing contemporary spaces with an eclectic, architectural feel and a signature “latin punch”, creates hand-sculpted collectible design objects.
Inspired by the creative legacy of her late mother, an artist, Marcela began her career by designing her own homes. She did this with such unique results and traits, that friends and family began to reach out to commission her for their projects.
website: marcelacure.com INSTAGRAM: @marcela.cure
Words: designeers
JULY 2024
designeers
Could you please give us a quick introduction? Describe what you create:
marcela cure
I am an Interior Designer from Barranquilla, Colombia, and I focus mostly on designing collectibles and contemporary interiors for residential, hospitaly, and corporate projects. Through my multidimensional studio, I also create pieces that pull from a material exploration of mostly stone, resin, and wood, and my hand-sculpted and hand-cast sculptures tend to hint towards a celebration of the female spirit and the human form.
designeers
Tell us how you got started in this field? What drew you to this type of art?
marcela cure
My mother was an artist and I had always been drawn to art and design, often spending hours eying design magazines we had at home. So it was only natural that after graduating from engineering, I began to organically gravitate towards interior design and work on commissioned projects. My eclectic, upbeat, and Latin-rooted interpretations of contemporaneity across residential and hospitality projects were a canvas to my subsequent sculptural explorations. The incorporation of these décor and collectible design pieces my studio broadened and established my practice as a multidimensional exercise in design. Simultaneously, it introduced almost paradoxical studies of craft in geometry and femininity in materiality.
designeers
Describe your favourite pieces to date and how they have shaped you as an artist:
marcela cure
My work with resin is always exciting because of the challenges in the process, but I have to say my absolute favorite piece to date is “Fragmentia”, a piece I introduced earlier this year during my first solo-exhibit in Paris. I like to think of Fragmentia as a “sculptural memento” that sheds light upon the intricacies in womanhood. Consisting of hand-sculpted and hand-cast fragments that yield an upright torso, Fragmentia tries to reference the anatomical considerations of the Reinassance while recurring to more deliberate geometries. To me, the piece is a reminder of romance in complexiry and poetry in resilience.
designeers
What do you feel is the most challenging part of being an artist?
marcela cure
I think keeping up with the work and being consistent regardless of the inspiration waves is a challenge. Someone once said to me that you can’t always be in the zone, and I guess it’s true, especially for creative pursuits. Another huge challenge of my practice is dealing with architectural and technical obstacles during full-renovations or general interior projects. There’s always something.
“My eclectic, upbeat, and Latin-rooted interpretations of contemporaneity across residential and hospitality projects were a canvas to my subsequent sculptural explorations.”
marcela cure
designeers
What does a typical day look like in the studio?
marcelA cure
When I am not at site-visits or meeting with a client, I see my architecture & design team early in the morning at the office to go over deadlines and priorities. Every wednesday I take my weekly call with my Marketing & PR Team (who are usually remote) and review progress on exhibition and activation plans. My afternoons are usually spent between my artisans’ workshops (woodworkers and sculpters) and home or at activities with my kids!
designeers
What’s the best mistake you have ever made?
marcela cure
I’ve had beautiful results coming from technical difficulties and errors in my stone-resin sculptures. One of my wall-pieces shattered once and became a totally different sculpture, one that even triggered inspiration for another series.
designeers
Your top 3 main sources of inspiration and references you are drawn to regularly:
marcela cure
I draw a lot of my inspiration from art shows, galleries, and travel. Old design books and magazines are also a common go-to for inspiration when I’m designing or working on projects.
designeers
On your coffee table right now?
marcela cure
Recently it’s all about my new series of sculptures, both my resin “Sun & Cola” pieces and my stone “Trompos” sculptures. They look great on any surface and are a great complement to my Kinfolk and Assouline books.
designeers
A gallery or museum that inspires you in your home town?
marcela cure
We have a beautiful museum in Barranquilla called “El Museo del Caribe”. The outer structure is super interesting and very unlike everything else we have in the city. I also travel often to Bogotá, the capital, and my favorite galleries there include La Cometa, Galería El Museo. My favorite museums are definitely the Botero Museum and the contemporary art museum, El Mambo.
designeers
Design hero:
marcela cure
My mother!
