September 07, 2022

5 minutes with Mattia Riami!

What is your path and what was the spark that led you to art and creation?

My journey begins as a child. I've always drawn, from the beginning it was a game but over time it became study, experimentation and finally work. I think the spark was born from the various illustrated books I had as a child, the idea of ​​creating fantastic worlds and getting lost in them captured me.

What is the medium that inspires you the most and why?

The technique I currently prefer is a mix between digital and manual. I really like using the traditional techniques learned at school and mixing them to conclude the work with brushes and new digital techniques of contemporary art. People often fail to understand which drawings I made in traditional technique and which in digital, then it is inconceivable for most people that the two things can marry and I must say that I really like this thing, I think it gives a modern cut to the my production.

What are your influences and inspirations?

Surely the great illustrators of today, such as Emiliano Ponzi or Christoph Niemann. Comics too, I particularly love Graphic Novels, and children's books. I am also influenced by the big names in art, from my school days to today, Picasso, Egon Schiele, Bruno Munari, and many others, I was lucky enough to work with one of them; Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and I must admit that his art and his explosive colors have also influenced me.

What is your creative process?

I always start by thoroughly studying the project I'm working on, then I make some really essential sketches in a sketchbook, this helps me to jot down all the ideas, cut them out of my mind and observe them on the sheet. Then I select the best ideas and then make more precise sketches to then move on to the definitive illustration.

Have you ever had experiences in an art gallery?

No this is my first experience, and you are a wonderful gallery!

Did you already know about reproduction (screen printing, risography, pigment printing) and multiples?

I already knew all these techniques, except pigment printing! I am happy to have discovered it and used it for three of the works created with you.

Which artwork would you choose to accompany you throughout your life?

Definitely a drawing by Picasso, but not one of his most famous works, I'd love a sketch.

Picasso, Lithographie, 1967

Which exhibition, artist or work of art moved you the most?

The Antonio Marras exhibition seen at the Milan Triennale. With the exhibition: Nulla dies sine linea he transported me into his most intimate world which I found extraordinarily similar to mine. I went back with my father to show him a piece of me, through Antonio's art I was able to understand and make myself better understood.

A place that inspires you?

Definitely Venice, and its most hidden corners. I recently discovered the wonderful garden of the Armenian Culture Study and Documentation Center.

What's your favourite colour?

Octanium.

Music that transports you?

I love many genres, space from Indie Rock to Pop music and Jazz, but when I draw Classical music! Speechless and perfect for traveling with the mind.

An essential book for your library?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

A film that marked you?

I'm still here with Joaquin Phoenix. A truly powerful cinematic experiment.

A childhood memory?

I remember I loved covering the living room floor with all the animal and dinosaur toys I had, I literally filled it all up, each one had its place in my mind as a child, I remember my father coming home from work and didn't know how to open the door so as not to drop, with a terrible domino effect, all my artistic installation!

What's your mantra?

"Nothing happens by chance."

What is your typical day like?

Breakfast with banana smoothie with soy milk and blueberries, then I go to my studio and start working. I work from 9:00 until 18:00, sometimes I stay until 19:00/19:30, everything that happens in this period of time is work or inspiration for it. Then I dedicate myself to life experiences and relaxation.

What is the role of Garance & Marion in the evolution of your career as an artist?

A very important role that allows me to get to know other artists and compare myself with them, in order to always grow in my work and be inspired. Another important role is to represent myself and break that barrier between the illustrator's work and art, communicating through images is a very important job but also a contemporary art form, a reality like the Garance and Marion Gallery allows me to present myself as an artist in continuous evolution, to experiment with new techniques and find new forms of communication. The gallery allows me to get into people's homes for the joy of decorating an environment.

what are your future projects?

I started this year to be part of the Yoonik Agency in Milan, with them we are creating many new interesting projects, including the label of a local Birra Veneta, illustrations for a delicious bottle of Vodka and much more! Stay tuned to my Insta for updates. I'm also thinking about some unpublished illustrated books!