Dairo Vargas Cerquera is a Colombian artist based in London, whose work explores themes of memory, identity and mental well-being. You can see how those themes, and his dreamy, unfurling paintings, connect with us and our own work. He's pondering questions we often discuss here, like this one from his website: “If our memories give us a sense of moving through time, which of them truly define who we are — and what it means to be alive?” So we had to get a deeper look into his mind.

What’s the best compliment you received recently?

A client messaged me several months after living with one of my artworks. They wrote saying that the piece made them feel less alone with a feeling they didn’t have words for. They described it as a warm, safe, quiet conversation with themselves. That stayed with me. It felt very honest, and close to why I make art in the first place,  to create space for feeling.

A painting by Dairo entitled "Monuments of the Mind."

What’s the last thing you read?

I’ve been reading "The Myth of Normal" by Gabor Maté, alongside poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke. One has resonated with me as a quiet reflection on the body, on belonging, and on the things we learn to carry without always realizing it. The other reminds me how language can gently hold what logic cannot, and how words can approach experience without trying to explain it away.

What’s an image or piece of art you can’t get out of your head?

Fragments of old frescoes, especially where time has worn parts of the image away. Faces half erased, gestures barely there, colors softened by centuries. I’m drawn to what’s missing, to cracks, fading, and erosion. There’s something very human in that, the way memory survives not through clarity, but through texture and absence.

What do you do in your alone time?

I often walk without a plan, especially in cities I don’t know well. I enjoy discovering small details, sculptures in façades, architectural ornaments, things you might miss if you’re rushing. I like letting myself get a little lost. Many of these walks quietly find their way into my work, like in a painting called "Shadows of a Forgotten Time," which was shaped by those moments of wandering and noticing.

"Shadows of a Forgotten Time" by Dairo Vargas Cerquera

What habit feels most important to you right now?

Making space for quiet every day. It might come through walking, painting, or simply sitting without distractions. It’s not something rigid or disciplined, more a habit of listening. I’ve learned that when there’s space, things surface naturally, without being forced.

A quote that’s meaningful to you?

“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke

I return to this line often. It reminds me not to resist experience, and to trust movement rather than permanence.

What super specific thing are you obsessing over lately?

Architectural details and emotional memory, things like arches, columns, borders, repeated patterns. These forms appear again and again across cultures and centuries, and I’m fascinated by how they quietly hold human experience.

Alongside that, I’m very immersed in the act of painting itself, the moment when time drops away and a different force takes over. I’m interested in how that state can become gently healing, not by fixing anything, but by allowing something to soften or shift.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on new paintings and site-specific mural projects that explore memory, healing and interior emotional landscapes. Much of my work is about creating spaces people can live with, environments that invite reflection rather than demand attention.

A piece by Dairo titled "Laced in Memory"

Alongside my studio practice, I’m also deeply interested in working with communities, using art as a tool for emotional expression, connection, and well-being. I’ve seen how creating together can open conversations that words alone often can’t. For me, these projects are about presence rather than instruction, allowing creativity to support healing, understanding, and shared experience in a gentle, human way. ⚘