Art Love - Meet Vanessa Gerotto
Vanessa is one of those people that you meet whose energy stays with you forever…Artist, muralist, architect, wanderer, traveler, creative…wherever you’ll find her you can keep a piece of her journey with prints from her collection inspired by and in collaboration with Mexican artist, Luis Pablo Mendoza. Read on for her story behind the series…
Tell us a little about yourself and your path to becoming an artist and architect?
I try to make this short… As far as i can remember i always loved to create, i did it through different mediums as a hobby until high school, and became more serious about finding a way to work in the creative fields when i started university. Life gave me the chance to study and work in the field of design, dance, and now architecture.
For some people it seems contrasting somehow, for me, as i tend to see connexions rather than separation between things, it seems all related. There were some key moments in my path, during all of them, i got touched and inspired by a presentation, a model, a project, got curious enough to give it a try, and lucky enough for it to work out. I do my best to follow joy and an eagerness to learn and grow, i guess all of it and a good amount of luck brought me were i am today, and I am super grateful for it all!
What drew you to Luis Pablo Mendoza?
I discovered Alebrijes and the work of Luis Pablo Mendoza during my first trip in Mexico in 2017. Mexico touched me profoundly for different reasons, one of them is the richness of the culture and preservation of arts and craft tradition.
The wood carvings of Luis Pablo Mendoza have something special, their shape, and most of all the ways he paints them. I saw an Interview once where he was explaining his signature on each sculpture is a candle he paints, because he wants his pieces to bring light where they stand.
They were too expensive for my budget, and during winter 2019, at a point where i was missing Mexico and thinking about his work, i thought i could actually draw it, and hang the drawings at home, which is how the thing started. First i made a small serie for myself and my family, and then it developped into a project.
What inspired your interpretation?
I wanted to do something simple, recall the bright colors, so the Risograph, which i had available daily at the time of the creation of the drawings, quickly appeared as an interesting production method.
Extra: share your favourite places for coffee/food/drinks/entertainment in your home town?
In Luzern i liked to go to Neubad, I worked in Südpol and made wonderful experiences as a volunteer for B-Sides and the Fumetto Festival.
Now I live in Basel since a few months, I discovered Mitte, love to go watch a piece every now and then at the Kaserne, and spent a lot of my free time along or in the Rhein.
Follow Hey That’s Nice on Instagram
Sign up for the Super Nice Newsletter
