Federica Ravasio: art, music, nature and feelings.

Today we have in pleasure to interview the young painter Federica Ravasio (IG profle) , who shows us her art, inspirations and techniques, between nature, colors and matter.

Hi Federica, thank you for agreeing to talk with us. Could you introduce yourself to our readers? When and how did you decide to start making your works?

Hi everyone, thank you for the proposal.

I am Federica Ravasio, born in Lecco in 1988. My relationship with art was born with my studies: artistic high school and Academy of Fine Arts in Bergamo. Later I attended the evening course of Home Decor at the IED in Milan. In my path I was a collaborator of the artist Jorrit Tornquist and Manuel Bonfanti, from whom I learned a lot and revived my inspiration.

Did you immediately try your hand at abstract realizations or did you start with figurative works?

As I mentioned earlier, I started with art studies, hence with figurative, which, however, never had much success in me, except for the depiction of some anatomical details. I always found the abstract, the impact of gesture and color definitely more interesting.

What inspires you? What makes you start a new work? The spark to get in front of the canvas?

I am mainly inspired by nature, water in particular, reflections, plays of light and shades, I often have ideas that in the least expected moments manifest themselves and are a combination of many things: music, nature and feelings. Usually this is how my works are born, through a kind of Epiphany dictated by a basis of thought and careful observation.

What techniques, types of color or media do you prefer to use? Do you use the canvas vertically or horizontally?

I paint horizontally, I like the matter and the textural effect on the canvas; so horizontality allows more solutions in this sense. I prefer paint, although I started with oil colors that I am always very fond of because of the brightness of the pigment. With paint I feel I am able to express myself totally, lately I have been incorporating very textural elements in my works.

For the “Baloons” series you use a very particular technique, filling balloons with color and bursting them on the canvas. Could you describe this procedure better? Have you used it in other series?

I only have that one series where I use this technique, it's exactly as you guessed, I fill the balloon with paint, stand on top of it and blow it up creating a playful phase. Of course I study a lot about the colors to use, to make the best use of the contrasts.

The series I personally prefer is “Grafica” where you combine the explosion of colors with simple but well-defined strokes. I also really like the fact that much of the canvas remains "free". Could you tell us what these works represent for you?

The idea is to recreate sketches, I have a habit of doodling, a kind of drawing made only of lines, with the series "Grafica" I combine the fluid part of the background with a more full-bodied aspect, like that of gesture.

In the “Trowel” series, the use of the palette knife allows you to make more complex, more physical surfaces. Other artists, we have talked to have focused on this growth of volume in the painting. In your case, where does the search for this additional dimension come from?

I take my inspiration from the master Tornquist, for whom I was an assistant for four years; among a great many of his works, the ones that have always enchanted me are the ones charged with matter combined with the study of color, and it is in this direction that my research is heading more now.

You are an established artist with several exhibitions under your belt. When did you feel you were able to enter this world?

To tell you the truth, I don't feel I'm inside this world, not yet, it's very difficult to make the right connections and to persist, especially now that practically everyone is "doing art," and I put that in quotes because many people don't have any kind of inherent basis or training.

You wrote that the “Piastrelle” series was born during the pandemic because of the lack of material. How did you experience the lockdown period?

I think I was one of the few people who experienced it very well, living in a hamlet of a small town and being literally surrounded by the forest, it was a beautiful time, I got to reflect on myself and with the "piastrelle" (tiles) series to lay the foundation for my work.

We can tell from your profile that you love tattoos and art. Do you have any other special interests? Or new projects you are working on?

I love music very much, have worked several years in the clubbing world, and music has been a constant in my life since childhood, often a source of inspiration and background while I paint. I have various ideas floating around in my head, nothing definite, but they are ideas that I hope to be able to put in order and put into concrete form.

A big thank you to Federica for her helpfulness, hoping to be able to admire her beautiful works live soon, congratulations again from all the staff of IlMioSalotto.

Images from: https://www.federicaravasio.it/