This interview was conducted by Livia Klein.
Celeste is an artist duo comprised by María Fernanda Camarena and Gabriel Rosas Alemán (b. 1988, Guadalajara, Mexico; b. 1983, Mexico City, Mexico).
Café Celeste
This year, you are presenting Melons Covered in Willow Leaves at Luxembourg Art Week, in the setting of the fair’s café. Could you introduce the project and tell us how it connects to your broader practice?
For us, the project continues what we’ve been doing for the past years—creating environments that come out of our dialogue as a duo. The café setting is particularly special, because it’s not just a place to look at art, but a place to rest, eat, and recharge. That resonates a lot with how we think of our work, as spaces that host people and allow conversations to happen.
How would you describe your practice and the way you work together?
Gabriel: I would say our practice really comes out of a constant conversation between us. This dialogue is a key element for everything we do. From there, it can take many forms… sometimes painting or textile works, other times installations, sculptures, or even workshops and readings.
Fernanda: Over the past five years, we’ve been thinking a lot about how to expand this dialogue: first between the two of us, and then gradually opening it up into a wider space where others can also take part. So it’s not easy to sum up in just one sentence, but at its heart, our practice is about creating welcoming environments, where that conversation can take shape in different ways. And evolve with us, and beyond us.
How did you come together, and when did your collaboration start?
Gabriel: We first started living together as two individual artists, without any plan to collaborate. Then we received an invitation to do a project as a duo, and we thought it would just be this one time. But as we worked on it, we realised how powerful it was for us. Both the process and the result. The project transformed a lot from the initial idea, and when we saw the final installation, we knew we had to continue.
This was during the pandemic, right?
Fernanda: Yes, in 2020. Looking back, that context was really important. Everything felt uncertain, like personal narratives and futures were being redrawn. It made it easier to take the step of committing to something new together. Our first exhibition was in October 2020, and at first we signed it with our individual names. But afterwards, we decided to take Celeste, the title of that show, as the name of our duo. It was a conscious decision to keep going as a collaboration, and it became a very meaningful part of our lives.
And what were you both working on individually before starting Celeste?
Gabriel: At the time, we were living in a small town outside of Mexico City, quite isolated, just the two of us. I was working on an individual practice rooted in architectural research but also the domestic sphere. I was painting on silk curtains, exploring textiles and sculptural spaces. Fernanda was doing her own research into symbolism, which became central to the first exhibition. Together, these different approaches came into dialogue and became the foundation for what Celesteis now.
How do the rhythms of your personal lives feed into the way you work together?
Fernanda: In the beginning, it was definitely difficult. There was a lot of vulnerability on both sides. Gabriel already had a strong individual practice, and mine was more hidden, so I felt the need to make myself seen within the collaboration. For him, it was sometimes hard to let go of decision-making. We were both fighting from our insecurities. But once we worked through that rough patch, things started to flow much more easily.
Now it feels different! We’ve learned how to work together, and the process has become more natural. For me, what we do is very personal. Each project carries something of our intentions and what we’re going through, either individually or as a couple. It’s not autobiographical in a literal sense, but there’s always an intimate layer. What happens in the studio comes back into our daily life, and what we experience at home also flows back into the work.
Do you see a connection between your daily life and your projects?
Gabriel: Yes, very much. I like the word “rhythm” because it captures how our personalities shape the work. From the beginning, we recognised that we both care deeply for each other and for the people around us. When we were living in that small town before 2020, one of the things we did really well was hosting. We would invite friends, cook, and celebrate together. That sense of caring, of creating a welcoming atmosphere, has stayed with us.
Even now, living in a big city, it’s still part of our life and of our projects. I think that energy of hosting, of being there for others, is very present in what we create. The rhythm starts in our home, in our daily life, and it carries into the studio and into the artworks.
Do you share that personal dimension with the audience?
Fernanda: Mostly it stays with us. We do share bits and pieces, often through references, like the names of places we’ve lived or small details connected to our daily life. But we never present a project as being “about us.” Instead, we prefer to leave things open, with hints and mystery, so viewers can bring their own interpretations. Even between us, we often have different readings of what we’re doing, and we’re fine with that. For us, it’s more interesting if the images and symbols remain open-ended.
Do you still keep your own individual practices or is it only Celeste now?
Gabriel: I still keep a personal practice, though it’s not as active as our work with Celeste. It’s more like a space where I can talk to myself, reflect, and sometimes bring those questions back into our shared work. For both of us, it feels important to have that individual space, whether it’s professional or personal. It keeps the balance.
Fernanda: Gabriel still makes sculptures from time to time. For me, my personal practice has become something like a journal, a very intimate space. But I bring most of it into Celeste, and I’m happy with that. At first, I thought, “He has his own practice, maybe I should have mine too.” And maybe one day I’ll feel the need to develop something separate. But right now, I love bringing my research and ideas into Celeste and seeing how they can grow in dialogue. Sometimes they develop further here than they ever could if I were just working on my own.
Let’s talk about your visual language. In my notes, I described it as moving between geometry, symbols, and fragments of the body. Where do these forms come from?
Fernanda: At the very beginning, one of the first elements in our universe was the celestial body, hence the name Celeste. In Spanish, celeste also means a shade of blue, so it played with both ideas: the sky, the celestial, and the color. That gave us the first geometric forms. Later, we introduced the vessel, which became a central symbol. For us, the vessel represented a container for our shared ideas and images.
From there, the language kept expanding. We played with the horizon line, which started to swirl and undulate. Sometimes becoming cliffs, sometimes resembling pleated curtains. We also used gestures, like two hands coming together, which felt very symbolic of our collaboration. Over time, we stretched these initial shapes, transformed them, and made them interact in new ways.
More recently, we’ve been incorporating symbols from other mythologies. We’ve been reading a lot about the Mexica people from the region where we live in Mexico, who had an incredibly rich symbolic language. That has really been influencing us, especially their vision of art and the role of the artist.
Could you give an example?
Fernanda: One figure we’ve been fascinated by is Nezahualcoyotl, a king and poet who also created gardens. For him, creating beauty was a way to honor the god, in contrast to other kingdoms that did it through war. He saw no difference between making a garden, writing a poem, or painting: all were forms of creation and contemplation. That worldview has really inspired us.
So your work is also deeply informed by your environment?
Gabriel: Exactly. It’s shaped by where we live, by the symbolic worlds we study, and by the landscapes around us.
What draws you to creating spaces rather than single works? Gabriel, earlier, you mentioned the idea of hosting. Do you see your installations as a form of hosting?
Gabriel: Very much so. The foundation of Celeste is still the dialogue between us, but we also see it as a dialogue with the audience. That’s why we create installations that can be experienced not only visually, but also as spaces where people gather. We like to imagine them being used for conversations, dinners, or workshops. And because most of our works are textiles, they’re also portable. They can travel, be reconfigured, and adapt to different contexts. That flexibility is important to us.
And that’s exactly what is happening in Luxembourg, right? The piece was first shown in London and is now reinstalled here.
Fernanda: Yes, exactly. The piece was already in Europe, so when we were invited to create the café for Luxembourg Art Week, we could adapt it for the new context. The work is modular. It’s composed of 16 panels. Some can be removed, some rolled up, so the piece can shift to fit a different space.
For Luxembourg, we’ve created a new configuration that allows people to enter into the work. The panels extend onto the ceiling, so visitors will be surrounded by color and atmosphere, almost sheltered by it. It’s going to be interesting to see how the natural light of the tent changes the perception inside the café, because that’s something you can’t fully predict.
And the making of the work. Can you tell us a bit more about that process?
Gabriel: The production is very detailed and collaborative. We work with Virginia Juárez, an incredible seamstress based in Mexico City. She does all the sewing for Celeste’s pieces, and she also pushes us to take risks in the way we design. Many elements are patchwork, with curves, details, seams, and colors all playing a role. Each piece carries these layers of materiality, not only in the fabrics but also in the stitching, the symbols, and the colors.
Let’s talk about the title of your project, Melons Covered in Willow Leaves. Why did you choose it?
Fernanda: I actually had this phrase stored in my notebook long before Celeste even existed. Around the time we got married, I asked the I Ching about how our life together would unfold. The answer was a longer passage, but the essence was that “sweet things are hidden and fall from heaven as if by magic.” I roughly translated it, but it really stayed with me.
I even made a little watercolor of melons covered in willow leaves, just to visualise the phrase. For me, when Celestebegan, it felt like the manifestation of that answer; sweet things arriving as if by magic. So with every big project I proposed this title, and finally, with this one, it made sense. The idea of shelter, of covering, and also of something sweet and unexpected coming into our lives felt right.
Your practice feels very personal and intimate. How does it feel to show such work in the commercial context of an art fair?
Gabriel: We’re very aware that the art world is built on transactions. It’s part of the system, in Luxembourg as much as in Mexico City. But our approach is not to deny that. Instead, we try to create spaces where different kinds of conversations can happen.
Fernanda: In this case, it’s beautiful that the piece is installed in the café. That fits perfectly with our idea of hosting. We may not be physically present, but the work itself hosts visitors, welcoming them into its atmosphere.
When people step inside your tent at the fair, what kind of experience would you like them to take away?
Fernanda: Honestly, I would just like people to feel at ease inside the tent. But mainly, I hope they enter and think, “Oh, this feels different. This feels good.” Art fairs are such hectic environments. People are working from morning to evening, and maybe they only have thirty minutes to eat a salad. If this space gives them a moment to sit down, take a breath, and feel comfortable, that’s already beautiful.
Gabriel: And at the same time, we do hope for curiosity. Because the piece will be very close to the body, people will pass through it, get closer, and try to understand the composition. It won’t be presented in its full form, since the space doesn’t allow all the panels, but you’ll still experience a situation that unfolds through the installation. That moment of curiosity, of looking closer, is just as important as feeling at ease.
