It’s really interesting to see a revival of old techniques into new medias, Javier de Ribas is an artist that brought cement tiles into street art, using them to enhance abandoned ambients adding some color and shapes. We had the opportunity to talk with this rising talent.

You can reach Javier on the following links:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Behance

 

1) First of all I would like to thank you for doing this interview, it’s an honor for us to present more about you to our readers. I would like to start asking you about when your interest for street art and patterns started?

 

I always enjoy seeing art in the public space, how it relates with the enviroment and how it proposes a dialogue with the viewer.

I studied graphic design and in 2010 with Mará López and Edu Pi started a project called Reskate Boards & Illustrators. It’s about recycling skates. We take old skateboards and reshape them, sand them and give to visual artists to recostumize them. This direct contact with illustrators, painters and visual artist makes me learn a lot and start developing my art.

The interest for the patterns comes from other point. At the end of the 19th century, hydraulic mosaic factories began to appear in the Catalan countries. Many homes in this area feature this type of tile, and I have lived with them all my life.

 

 

2) Which artists do you use as reference?

What inspires me a lot is looking how others work. I’m thankfull with internet I can see really good people and meet them. Collaborating with people makes me get a lot of inspiration. I don’t use to give names but Aryz makes me cry :D.

 

 

3) Your style is quite influenced by patterns design / retro geometric art. How did you develop this style and how would you describe it?

I love patterns! They add personality and fill the space with a unique rhythm. I’ve work with geometrical patterns because it was the first kind of designs that appeared. Are synthetic way to represent flowers. Each tile is identical, but the repetition generates new forms, born out of how each of the tiles join and intersect. Like in abandoned tiled floors, flowers usually appear between the tiles. Is for this reason that the name of my project is “FLOORS,” comes not only from the use of flooring as a canvas, but also from “flors,” the Catalan word for flower.

 

 

4) Describe us a bit about your creative process while creating a piece

For the Floors project, I don’t spend so much time painting. I work more previously planning and less on the painting, taking measures and looking for the location, then making the stencils. Sometimes I paint in various days/nights. Each day one layer (one Color) but other times i do all on the same day/night, it depends on where is the action. The biggest one that I did I spend 8 hours painting with kneepads. Sometimes I also spend time taking photos and video editing. The documentation of this action showing the space I think that is a big part of the project.

In other projects I see what the projects asks and try to work their necessities. I believe that the medium is the message. So when I find a message to share I will look for the medium that express better it’s message.

 

 

5) What would you consider the best moment on your career till now?

There are many! The first exhibition of the “Reskate Boards & Illustrators”, the week with Minuskula and Guim Tió, the day that we present in Vienna the Harreman project with photoluminescent paint.

 

 

6) How do you describe your daily routine? (Send me a pic of your office). I don’t have, sorry!

Unstable! I’m working now on my future studio. At the moment I’m working wherever I can. Every day is different and I adapt myself.

 

 

7) Being a multimedia artist, please tell us what’s your favorite media to work with? Why?

I love all of them. I think that the point is to diversify and take each medium an canvas with the motivation of the first time.

 

 

8) Tell us five lessons you believe are really important for every artist.

1. Research

2. Do what you say

3. Say what you do

4. Prove it

5. Ignoring the lessons of others and build yours working

 

 

9) Tell us five websites that you like to visit.

I work a lot with www.behance.com but I don’t have a lot of websites that I visit regularly. For me internet is a place to get lost.

 

 

10) Thanks again for your time, please leave a final message for the ones who are starting out on this kind of business.

One day I red a sentence that says: “Art change the people and the people change the world” . We should keep it real!