Featured Artist Irene Raspollini

Italian artist Irene Raspollini paints stylized, distinctive portraits using augmented reality techniques. View more of her work on her website.

 

 

As long as I can remember, painting and drawing have been two constant elements in my life. These talents are a family thing and I was lucky enough to have been always encouraged by my fiancé, my parents, and my friends to improve my artistic abilities and express myself through art.

 

 

Nevertheless, I fell victim to the “starving artist” myth and at the beginning I didn’t consider art as a possible career. That’s why I did not attend an art school. I continued to paint as an hobby, but after my graduation in Communication Sciences and various jobs in three different towns, I still felt that something was missing.

 

 

Thanks to the internet, I began to share my artworks with an international audience. I was able to make my first sales and get into exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Encouraged by this success, I decided to pursue a career as a full-time painter—and here I am!

 

 

As a self-taught artist, my practice evolved a bit randomly at the beginning. As soon as I decided to take my art more seriously, I worked systematically to improve my skills, and above all to find my own style and narrative.

 

 

In 2012, a rough sketch in black and white of a woman’s face with saturated red cheeks became the embryo of my present signature characters. Over the years, this sketchy style significantly evolved and changed, but the red cheeks and the saturated colours remain a constant feature in my whole production.

 

 

I work mainly on paper and canvas. My favourite mediums are acrylics and watercolors, but I’m open to every kind of experimentation. When I was invited to Mexico for my first solo show outside Italy in 2018, I had the chance to learn how to create tile mosaics thanks to Mexican master muralist Cienfuegos. I’m absolutely in love with this technique.

 

 

My characters are often surrounded by natural elements. Living in a small village lost in the Tuscany woods has probably played a large part in this aspect of my art. Other sources of inspiration are the eighties with its Kitsch movement, with everything playful and colorful with funny aesthetics.

 

 

Recently, inspired by fellow artist Roberto Grosso, I introduced augmented reality into some of my works. Thanks to an app for mobile devices, it is possible to make paintings appear to come alive. It was really a pleasure to see the audience’s reaction when I presented these works in London! I’m pretty sure that this technology will be used more in the art world in the near future.

 

 

I’m humbled and glad to have exhibited my art in eight countries around the world. At the moment, this includes China, Taiwan, the United States and Mexico. I love that my rosy-cheeked characters have been purchased and loved by collectors worldwide.

 

 

I really cannot wait to begin the next adventure.

 

Artist Irene Raspollini invites you to follow her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

 

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