Interview with Luiza LaPupazza

q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.

a)Hello, my name is Luisa Catucci, better known as Luiza LaPupazza and I’m an Italian emerging artist, I born in Rome, based in Berlin since 2006. I’m coming from the underground alternative scene of Rome, which I do still really enjoy, although I felt the necessity to run away. Before landing in Berlin I lived shorts periods also in England, Spain and France. I spent years and years trying to figure out who I was and where I was going and I believed the place where to do it for me wasn’t Rome, where I’ve mainly felt like a three-headed-alien, although I left there some of the dearest friends ever and my family.

q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]

a)Ohhhhhhhhh, no! I truly can’t say I planned to become an artist! How to plan this?? When I was a child I was SURE I would become an Architect like my father and I actually started to study it at University, but wasn’t for me at all. I switched to classical literature studies, because reading is one of my biggest passion, but again wasn’t what I was looking for. Than I finally took an illustrations classe at IED (Istituto Europeo del Disagio, ops Design), because drawing was what I rather doing since childhood. After that I spent years working as illustrator and graphic designer, but never so happy about myself and my work. It’s only after mooved to Berlin that I find a balance and also my works took a direction which I liked and my properly artistic path started.

q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?

a)In the last years I’m working more and more with computer, cause it’s the media which allow me better to mix all the “technique” I’ve learned, like illustration, digital photography and graphic design, for creating something completely new. But in the last times I’m really feeling the necessity to come back on “manual” work and put myself again on hand drawing and painting, we will see!

q) How would you describe your style?

a)“Pupazziano”. I don’t have really a word to describe my work. I have many different styles, so much that when I do solo exhibitions people think it a group show. But off course there’s a common feeling in all my works, and it’s something between melancholy, child memory, fantasy, research of lost traditions, romance and irony.

q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?

a)Sure, but this processes are continuosly changing! Depend a lot what I’m working on about. For photopainting usually I go through my photos and suddently I got strike by the vision of the work. For my illustrations instead the idea starts or from an old story I would like to tell, or on specific purpouse, like my Tarot serie, but on the realization side I start again from photos, I build backgrounds with photographic layers, I prepare in photoshop the photographic insert, while I draw with Illustrator the vectorial drawing using my graphic tablette.

q) What are you working on at present?

a)I’ve actually started my maternity pause last Tuesday! But still I’m working in the goodwill of my new activity, the Cell63 artgallery, which I opened here in Berlin last June. Plus I want to use this pause for finishing some project I had, like the Tarot cards, and preparing two new solo exhibitions that will be hosted next year one from Mondo Bizzarro Gallery in Rome, and one from Abnormals Gallery in Berlin.

q) What about recent sources of inspirations?

a)Nature. I saw lately once again the “Alice in Wonderland” by Jan Svankmajer, which always let a strong impression on me. Than also some good reading I had on Alchemy and Mystic. Honestly, I get some of my inspirations also by watching other artists works. I like to observe and “study” the works of others so to learn from them and than get my own direction.

q) What are some of your obsessions?

a)Dog Hairs.

q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?

a)I’ve shown at BLO, Tacheles, OkiDoki Gallery, Cell63 artgallery, Abnormals Gallery, Kita, Fastlageralle and others in Berlin, at Turkish Embassy Art Space, Rising Love, Forte Prenestino, Granma, and others in Rome. I’m looking forward to exhibiting all around the world, in serious professional galleries. I’m actually very exited on the idea of my future solo exhibitions in Mondo Bizzarro Gallery (one of my favourite gallery in Rome) and Abnormals Gallery (one of my favourite gallery in Berlin) and I hope to keep on going in that direction.

q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?

a)I saw that most of all I do like emails and general internet, but depend! Cause I like human direct contact, a good chat in front of a nice cup of tea….

q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?

a)No, not from me, I’m still too much experimenting around

q) Who are your favorite artists?

a)Jan Svankmajer, Matthew Barney, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Mihao Miyazaki, Mark Ryden, Bill Viola, Frida Kalo, Leonor Fini, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Gustav Klimt, Leonardo Da Vinci, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, many others

q) What books are on your nightstand?

a)Depends. In this moment near my bed are: a biography of Paracelsus, a couple of maternity books, Saturday by McEwan, Faust by Goethe, Gitterbugs Perfume by Tom Robbins and the comic book Maus by Spiegelman, next month we’ll see!

q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?

a)Food.

q)….your contacts…

a)website: http://www.lapupazza.com

email: lapupazza@gmail.com

telephone: +49.176.20404636