RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS WITH ~ FABIO VISCOGLIOSI BY PABLO G. VILLAZAN

In this weeks session of “Rapid Fire Questions” our good friend Pablo G. Villazan shares with us his Q&A with French artist, Fabio Viscogliosi. Fabio has an interesting way of creating his works that combine an illustrative and abstract feel. - The League

Fabio’s new solo exhibition “The Garden” will be opening this Monday at L21 Gallery in Spain.

So, Ready! Set! Gooooooo!

Who is Fabio Viscogliosi?

A painter and a writer, living in France, born from an Italian family.

Did you always want to be an artist?

I guess so, I always wanted to build and create things with my hands. When I was a kid, my father worked in a factory as a welder, but he also taught me the importance of drawing and sculpture, and the joy of making these.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I catch details from everyday life and art history, cinema, architecture, design, objects. I also like to wander in the streets or the hardware store. I think inspiration is a subjective equation, the way a shape (a line or a word) meets another one to build a certain situation.

Which artists have the greatest influence on your work?

The frescoes of Giotto in Assisi, or the fabulous prints by Hiroshige, but also artists like Ettore Sottsass, Gio Ponti, Carl Barks or Buster Keaton. And all the history of landscape and still-life painters.

What is your process to create your work?

I draw everyday, as a diary, and some of these drawings grew in large paintings on canvas. I like the combination of velocity and patience.

Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?

The natural light, I guess. I like to use basic tools, a simple brush, few colors (deep green, mars black and cadmium red, most of the time) and raw canvas.

What is the meaning behind your artwork?

Maybe that the reality is a balance between epic and comic, between metaphor and presence. What is fascinating about artworks, is that they are autonomous models that fit in a larger space, the world itself.

Imagine that your paintings could talk, what would they say about you?

« Roll up for the Mystery Tour! »

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Do more paintings, stay concrete, be honest, keep cool.

Do you find the social channel’s influence Positive or Negative?

Positive, in the way that, for the last years, I’ve met here fantastic peoples to work with.

Describe in 3 words how social channels affect you as an artist.

Here you are.

What is your dream project?

To see my paintings in places I don’t know yet. And producing a big book on bible paper, with all of my artworks all line up.