1. Hello Vittoria, tell us a little bit about yourself
Hello Luce! My name is Vittoria Drago, I'm 41 years old and I'm from Bergamo. Since I was 23, I've been traveling and living in Spain for various periods of my life. For the last 6 years, I lived in Barcelona, where my son, Timoti, was born last year. After his birth, my partner and I decided to return to Italy for a while. I am an artist and a contemporary art teacher for children. My friends say that "voy por el mundo sembrando semillas de color" wouldn't sound as good said in Italian!
2. How have your years in Barcelona influenced your life? How do you see yourself reflected in this city, and what did you bring back with you when you returned to Italy?
Like all lives lived abroad, there have been positive and negative moments, but it's always so exciting to challenge yourself and gain experience! This word means everything to me. Experience is research, it's opportunity, success, and failure. Experiences have never scared me; I always face them with renewed energy, just like when I start a new artistic project. My perspective is different, it's fresh. Often, in this perspective, I encounter wonder, magic, and surprise, and equally often, disappointment and error. But that's okay, it's all part of the process, and Barcelona was the Experience, with a capital E, for me. Being surrounded by creative people who speak your same language inevitably inspires, motivates, and helps you grow both personally and professionally. In Barcelona, I formed emotional bonds that I am sure will last over time, a real family! And I grew a lot working alongside art professionals and others. It is a sunny, youthful, lively, and dynamic city. It's a top that has to keep spinning, spinning, and spinning to stay balanced. I see myself very much in these characteristics. Returning to Italy, I brought with me a precious son, who changed the way I feel and exist in the world. I feel like I'm constantly evolving, as a woman, as an artist, and as a mother. Changes sometimes slow down the flow of experience, but the desire to continue growing, learning, doing, and being amazed, especially alongside children, increases every day!
3. Your work is that of an artist, and in this work, the pedagogical aspect is very much intertwined with your work with children. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Yes, exactly. I've been working with children for several years, and the pedagogical aspect is a very important part of my job. One of the most beautiful and rewarding things Barcelona gave me was the opportunity to embark on this magical adventure in the world of childhood. For this, I must thank Martha Zimmerman, a Barcelona gallery owner, founder of "Plom Gallery" and the educational project "Los Super Poderes Del Arte," who in 2018 entrusted me with the direction of extracurricular Contemporary Art courses, working alongside her every week as a teacher to guide children in discovering the superpowers of art. My workshops are true artistic experiences; I have an experimental and contemporary approach to designing my lessons. We have fun training creativity and imagination, without abandoning technical knowledge. I strongly believe in the art of the process, but also in technique. I teach them not to be afraid to express their emotions, their inner world through the beauty of art and "making art." With these two simple but powerful words, @farearte (making art), I named the artistic-educational project I brought to Italy.
4. How would you define your aesthetic? We see it as pop, naive, primordial, abstract, but also rock in its own way, with a well-defined and recognizable identity.
I am not a figurative person; I am completely abstract, in a way that I feel I have found myself, and this makes me feel good and free. I like to have a world of my own to organize, build, and deconstruct. Abstract art, I believe, is wonderful because it allows anyone who looks at it to go deep or simply stay on the surface. Its lightness makes it suitable for both adults and children. As do its language of shapes, colors, composition, and gestures. I get excited when children stop to look at my works and are moved. They connect with my style because it is simple, with pure shapes and colors. As you say, primordial and naive. My work is autobiographical. I tend to synthesize what happens "inside and out" with a lot of spontaneity, and I believe it is precisely this characteristic that has brought me closer to the world of childhood. It brings me joy to work with children; I feel like one of them. That's why I decided to divide the time dedicated to my more self-referential production with these moments of pure creation. Children know much more about art than adults! I am the one who learns from them!
5. What catches your eye when you look at the world?
I am fascinated by architecture, design, children's playgrounds, structures, figurative space, windows, dazzling light, and sharp shadows. I am attracted by shapes, composition, repetition, colors, and color contrasts. I love and collect game books, pop-ups, and artist's books because I believe they are true art objects. As I have said on other occasions, my work is inspired by architecture; in my family, there is a long generation of architects and builders. Only mine is architecture of the spirit.
6. What characteristics of yourself do you think are noticeable in your art?
I think a kind of joyful spontaneity and instinct is noticeable, in the use of colors and in approaching composition. All with a good dose of locura (madness).
7. What is your relationship with the feminine?
In every place and moment of my life, very naturally, I have always been fortunate to meet and have wonderful and creative women by my side. Friends with whom I often share thoughts and whose closeness has always inspired me greatly, reassured me, and given me confidence in myself and my abilities. There is a kind of security I feel in being surrounded by female presence... which has a more delicate, more attentive, deeper, brighter eye.
8. An artist we should all discover and why?
Certainly, the Spanish Gina Gimenez and the Czech Kveta Pacovska, who are two artists and graphic painters I love. The Japanese Katsumi Komagata for his children's books and Bruno Munari, whom I hope no one still needs to discover and with whom I want to conclude our chat... "Art is continuous research, assimilation of past experiences, adding new experiences, in form, content, material, technique, means."
Credits: Vittoria Drago