Alejo welcomes us at La Martita wearing his artist’s vest splattered with paint and with a hearty breakfast that we don’t eat until 1 p.m. For him, Mediterranean life is exactly that: enjoying each moment calmly, without rush. We sit in the patio, soaking up the intense January sun, with only the sound of birds in the background. But above all, we are surrounded by a calm that has nothing to do with the bustle Alejo was used to in Buenos Aires, his hometown.

“…seeing works that, although I couldn’t yet understand them, were already beginning to spark my curiosity.”

The Argentine artist tells us that one of the places where he could find that childhood calm, and where he discovered his great passion for art, was his mother’s studio: “I used to go see her work in the studio or accompany her to art exhibitions. I have memories from my childhood of walking through museum pavilions, seeing works that, although I couldn’t yet understand them, were already beginning to spark my curiosity.”

LA MARTITA

He named it after his mother, Marta, and his grandfather, as he used this affectionate diminutive when he lived with them. Both taught him that the only way to pursue his dreams was to bet on them — and that’s exactly what he did. He decided to take a plane to Barcelona to start a new chapter as an artist, having admired the great Catalan painters since childhood: Dalí, Miró…

But after a few years living in the capital, he began to feel very curious about the landscapes and tranquility of Tarragona. So he hopped on his bike and visited several houses in the area until he found La Martita: “It was love at first sight, something hypnotic.” The Argentine artist gradually immersed himself in the Mediterranean lifestyle, which he describes as unique: “I feel like I’m in a very special place, with plenty of light, olive trees, and a very calm climate. There are no extreme weather conditions here, which allows me to fully enjoy all the seasons of the year.”

“The sunlight comes in from different angles, allowing me to experiment in very different ways.”

Alejo talks about his home as if it were another piece in his collection — and in many ways, it is. His most personal work, the one that has accompanied him for the longest time. Alejo’s little house resembles a boat anchored to the mountain, with two floors separated by a rounded railing that he built with his own hands, like almost everything in La Martita: the storybook kitchen, the curious lamp that moves up and down, illuminating only the space he is using, the firewood boxes, or his artworks decorating the white walls. Alejo designed his workspace himself, deciding every detail, including how light would enter every corner: “For me, natural light is very important. As the day passes, sunlight enters from different points of the house, allowing me to create and experiment in very different ways.”

IN THE STUDIO

The studio at La Martita is a true artist’s space: filled with painting materials, tools, and papers of different textures that Alejo has collected over time. For several years, he explored papers from different parts of the world: Mexico, India, Morocco, and now also Catalonia. Here, he met a paper artisan with whom he created a very special texture, “with a color tone that works very well with the paint,” which he uses in many of his most recent works.

Alejo has felt a great evolution in his style since he began working and living here, something that has much to do with nature and the local people. Now, his friends are farmers from other generations who teach him tools and ways of working the land, which he later applies in his paintings: “My path would surely have been very different if I had stayed in the city, because I like to connect my work with the environment, to create a shared language.”

He explains that his inspiration arises when he has the fewest resources. This way of seeing and understanding the world is closely linked to his life at La Martita: solitary and relaxed, far from the hectic pace of the city. Following this minimalist approach, Alejo’s works are characterized by simple colors: he started only with black, very full and intense; then moved to an earthy red, more natural; and now he is working with white, a color that speaks of purity and simplicity.