Visual Inquiries

By Harry Diaz

Asymmetric Magazine: Tell us about your series.
Harry Diaz: The work I’m sharing with you is a series of prints and drawings from a few recent zines.

AM: What is your biggest inspiration? 
HD: A lot of this work is intuitive, but I take a lot of visual reference from Maya weaving. I was born in Guatemala, and I remember a lot of the patterns I would see at the local markets. There is a lot of really exciting printmaking going on right now, so I look at the work being done by a lot of my peers, too.

AM: What role does Los Angeles play in your work? 
HD: Being from L.A. has influenced my work since the beginning. Being around such a diverse environment is really invigorating when it comes to visual language and inspiration.

AM: We love your juxtaposition of nature and geometric shapes. Is this a typical theme in your work? 
HD: Yes. I’m always striving to find that balance within figurative and abstract shapes. How much of an object do I need to represent in order to get my idea across? It’s something that I continually work on.

AM: What types of mediums do you work with? What is your favorite? 
HD: In my personal work, I tend to work in some sort of tangible medium from printmaking to zines. It all depends on the concept of the work. If I had to choose, I’d say woodcuts are my favorite form of mark making at the moment.

AM: What can we expect to see from you next?
HD: I’m working a lot on commissions right now, illustration and graphic design work. 

Harry Diaz a printmaker and graphic artist based in L.A. via Guatemala. You can find more of his work and zines at harrydiaz.com.