ITW : In the depths of Ugo Gattoni’s illustrations
Ugo Gattoni is a Parisian illustrator renowned the world over for his technique and his infinitely meticulous creations. After having worked with Hermès, the New York Times and even Rolex, he joined forces with Olow for a surreal collaboration.
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Hi Ugo! We’d like to begin by looking back on your journey. How did you go from a scientific baccalaureate to freelance illustration?
After obtaining my scientific baccalaureate, I tried, without much hope, the EPSAA entrance exam, a graphic design school in Paris. I did a preparatory school for a year, and then three years of studies before obtaining my degree in 2010. I’ve been freelancing since then.
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You use different tools, like Rotring or graphite, to draw. Can you tell us what they bring to your creations?
They’re two different techniques, for two different results. I work meticulously with those two tools. My stroke resembles engravings when I use ink, whereas I am able to work more surrealistically with crayons, like with my portraits. But I have also been working with colour for a while now.
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Your drawings often remind us of religious or medieval frescos where humanity’s great stories were depicted. In what way do your illustrations have that narrative function?
I have always liked telling stories when drawing, whether it be a whole story or little narrations lost in the details. Those large formats enable me to do that, and also enable the spectators to make up their own stories when viewing the drawing, at times loosing themselves in it. The frieze format as well, Bayeux Tapestry style like my book Bicycle, imposes a kind of chronology to the drawing’s events. Most of the time, I draw my friezes from left to right, evolving the story bit by bit.
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There are many levels of interpretation to your creations, whether we look at them up close or from afar. What do you like about that kind of mise en abyme?
People’s interpretations of them. I also think I like to see the spectators surprised or amused by a detail they hadn’t seen when they were further away from, or closer to, the drawing. From afar, you can understand the context; that it’s a town, for example – you move closer by entering the town, then you continue moving forward and end up on the scale of the town’s characters, you identify yourself to them. I’m very interested by that progression throughout the drawing.
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Your work has often been commended for its precision and meticulousness. Which piece took you the longest to complete?
Large format wallpaper I created for Pierre Frey. I’ve been working on it for 6 months and I still can’t see the end of it. The project will see the light of day in 2016.
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We couldn’t help but notice your collaborations with heavyweights of the textile and luxury industries like Hermès, for whom you designed silk scarves, or even Céline, Nike and Sandro. What do you find so interesting in working with textiles?
It’s true that I have quite an affinity for fashion and the world of textiles. It’s a way of sublimating drawings on surprising materials, with a unique savoir-faire and techniques. Illustrations resonate completely differently on silk or Jacquard, for example. I also like the aspect of collaborating with craftsmen, and seeing how my drawing will be interpreted.
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Why choose to collaborate with OLOW?
I already knew their clothes, a few of their collaborations were carried out with artists I am very fond of, and we got along well when we first met. No need for much else to begin a project together.
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Apparently you travel a lot between Paris and London. What kind of influence does the United Kingdom have on your drawings?
That was more in 2012/2013, I do that less nowadays. I love London for its open-mindedness, the exhibitions I was able to do there, and the collaborations. My editor lives there, and I have just signed with Nomint in London, as a director. So yes, there’s a bond there, it’s why I chose to illustrate the city in my book Bicycle.
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Will we be able to admire your drawings during an exhibition anytime soon?
I’m hoping to take time off for myself, and then think about an exhibition for the end of 2016 in Paris!
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Many thanks to Ugo Gattoni for his answers !
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