In Conversation with Marina Anaya
FOREST, a furoshiki by Marina Anaya
At Link Collective, we are drawn to artists whose work is guided by intuition, material sensitivity, and a deep respect for manual processes. Our collaboration with Marina Anaya reflects these shared values.
Marina Anaya is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice moves freely between printmaking, painting, sculpture, ceramics, and textiles. Rooted in hands on making and shaped by years of living and working across Spain, Brazil, and Cuba, her work carries warmth, rhythm, and a strong connection to nature.
Together with Marina, we created a limited edition furoshiki series, designed as both a functional textile and a work of art. Printed and hand sewn in Japan by a family run workshop with over 50 years of experience, each piece reflects a meeting point between Japanese craftsmanship and Marina's poetic visual language.
Inspired by forests, birds, moonlit water, and the quiet movement of air, the design invites everyday use while holding space for imagination. In this interview, conducted in writing between Tokyo and Madrid, Marina shares more about her artistic path, her relationship with materials, and the ideas behind the FOREST furoshiki created for Link Collective.
This year, our collaboration also became a meeting in person. In May, Marina visited our studio in Tokyo, where she met textile artist Araki Kei. We share that moment at the end of this story.
Introduction and interview by Katarina Mladenovicova
Marina, could you tell us a little about your artistic practice and the inspirations behind your work?
My artistic and craft work is completely organic and natural to me. I mean, I've had a strong vocation since I was very young to work with my hands and develop creative tasks. Artistic practice arises in me in a completely natural way, without any provocation or effort. My only way of being in the world has been to develop this "sense of life" (Ikigai) with which I was born.
Currently, I do practically the same thing I did when I was 5 years old, only now I know more techniques and processes, and my works have more recognition, but my way of approaching each day has changed very little since then.
I like to create works with an artistic concept and a handcrafted process, and I like to accompany my works from the concept to the final result, so I've had to learn many craft techniques and processes.
As for my inspiration, it's mainly nature, forests, trees, birds, and Love. I like to represent the kind side of life.
You have lived and worked in various places abroad, including Brazil and Cuba. How have these experiences shaped your creative perspective?
More than I realized. Especially my time in Cuba, with the idiosyncrasies of its people, with its island character so different from anywhere else in the world. Because of its color and Latin warmth. Because of its music. All of that lives within me and in my work. And also all the trips I've taken to different parts of the world. My work in the studio is very much like that of a monk in a monastery, so when I travel, my senses are alert to capture everything suggestive and then bring it to my ceramics, my canvases, my work.
Your practice encompasses multiple media, from painting and sculpture to textiles and beyond. Why is a multidisciplinary approach important in your way of working?
I'm interested in anything made by hand, especially if it has color and texture… and I find it very difficult to resist that temptation. So, I decided a while ago to embrace who I am and work in each discipline according to the needs of each project. And also to combine them and leverage the knowledge from one for the other.
Again, it's not so much a conscious decision as it is remaining true to an instinct.
At Link Collective, we highly value manual knowledge and traditional techniques, which aligns with your philosophy and your dedication to learning new crafts. Could you share more about the origin of this appreciation for practical processes?
When I think about a new piece, it's very important for me to understand the creative process and to know that I'm going to make it with my hands, not just my mind. This knowledge of artisanal processes influences the project but also contributes greatly to its development. I love that the processes themselves sometimes guide or continue what I've started, and I allow myself to be surprised and seduced by their suggestions.
I studied Fine Arts at university, but after graduating I've continued learning a multitude of processes in other schools and workshops. And I keep taking courses and learning every day.
Through your exposure to different materials and craft traditions, have you had any particularly influential mentors or creators whose work you would recommend to our readers?
My grandfather, Víctor Gutiérrez, was a sculptor. He was also a sailor, so he didn't fully develop his artistic career, but he made many public sculptures, figureheads for ships, and private pieces in clay, fiberglass, wood… I feel like I'm his continuation in some way. There are many more influences in my career, and teachers and assistants, from whom I learn every day, but without a doubt, he, my grandfather, is the one I admired since I was a child and still do today. In a way, I feel like I'm carrying on his spirit.
Finally, it was an honor for us to collaborate with you on the creation of your furoshiki. Could you tell us more about the design and why you chose to work with traditional Japanese furoshiki making techniques for this piece?
I adore your work, and your furoshikis have been a part of my everyday attire for a long time now; I wear them almost every day. They're part of my identity.
My FOREST furoshiki is inspired by the scent of trees, autumn, the river water reflecting the moonlight, and the free flight of birds.
I completely share your love for manual processes, and when I thought about designing a furoshiki, I knew I wanted to respect the traditional Japanese way of doing things, because the result is beautiful, but beyond that, it's because of what it means to continue the work of our masters and value traditional manual processes. It has been an honor for me to work with you, and the result of my FOREST furoshiki is wonderful.
A meeting at our studio
Until then, our conversation with Marina had taken place across the distance, in emails and written answers. In May, while Araki Kei's exhibition To weave is to speak. filled our studio in Shirokanetakanawa, Marina came to visit us during her stay in Japan. The walls were hung with Kei's woven works, bright with thread and color, and the workshop tables were covered in small looms.
Kei builds her own language of color one thread at a time. Marina, as she wrote in her answers, needs to make things with her hands, not just her mind. They come from opposite sides of the world and work with different materials, yet in that room they found an easy common ground: color, texture, and the patience of making by hand. Watching them talk, it felt less like an introduction and more like a conversation that had simply been waiting to happen.
When we opened the studio, we hoped it would become a place to welcome visitors, designers, and future collaborators. Moments like this one are why. It is a quiet joy for us to see the people we work with find each other here, and we hope the studio keeps being a place where encounters like this can happen.
Discover Marina's FOREST furoshiki ↗︎