Fernando Ferramosca

Date of Birth: 1968

Place of Birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina  

Current City of Residence: Buenos Aires 

Countries Where He Has Exhibited: Argentina, Uruguay, Brasil, USA.

Pop culture is the obsession at the center of Ferramosca’s artwork. Feeding off of urban pop art, his boxed 3D creations are a mix of kitsch, TV and cinema references arranged playfully in a chaotic balance. Each figure and element that goes into his unique pieces of art is hand made by the artist. An architect by profession, Ferramosca puts his skills at the service of his creations, giving them the feel of vibrant urban landscapes.

Interview

What is art for you? 

Art from my particular point of view has to be a fun game where I can set my own rules and allow myself to express my imagination.

Behind each work of art is a story. Something I want to tell, that interests me, that calls my attention. Something that I can invent or is part of my own history; always with a touch of humor and sometimes with a certain irony about real or imaginary situations.

In fact, I feel like a “teller of visual stories”.

How did you approach art? 

As is the case of many artists, my contact with art came at a very young age. I created my own games and movies, and experimented in transforming my toys. I would set up my own soccer games and create the characters.

Each day I would enjoy waiting for my grandmother to come home from work with a chocolate treat with a surprise toy inside, I was a fan of these little toys. As you can see, all of these childhood experiences can be seen in my current works. 

Although I’ve participated in studios, I’m pretty much self educated because my work is very playful.

What are the recurring themes in your work?

As an architect and a citizen of a great city as is Buenos Aires, I can’t escape the urban theme, its characters and their fates.

Regardless, my cities play it to the limit between what’s real and what’s fantastic. In fact, they belong to no special place or time, nothing is literal.

I like to leave clues for the observer so he can create his own reality.

Everything I’m a fan of can turn into a story told through a play, a rock band, sports, TV series, movies, etc.

In my work there is no synthesis, I have no intention for there to be any. I want the spectator to get inside my creation in search of the details and to play with them

What things inspire you? 

What I usually do is feed off of all kinds of images that create a background which later gives way to different ideas.

In general I make reference to the chaotic nature of the real world, and I have fun making irony of that chaos and ridiculing it in my works. For example, from this came the idea of creating sagas such as “Los Gordos Paradise” and “Micromundis”.

How would you describe your production process?

I work indistinctly between my workshop and my home. I also like to sit at bars and draft ideas. My only routine is to work every day.

I like to research and experiment with different materials, many of them disposable or recycled.

I use papers, hardboard, recycled goods, wire, wood, acrylic paint, ink and all kinds of objects that I feel can be part of my work. I make every piece by hand. Once built, I like to pour myself a cup of coffee, play some good music and play with them until I build the idea for my creation.

I carry notebooks with me all the time, to register anything that catches my attention, full of small drawings and ideas that will later be part of my artwork.

In general I don’t make very detailed sketches of what I’ll do. I come up with an idea that’s interesting to me and leave the end result up to creativity.

How would you define your work in terms of tradition, style, school or trend?

I don´t think my work follows any defined school or trend. I call it 3D fusion or urban pop in 3D, since it involves paint, sculpture, drawings and small characters that create a scenography or story, And of course, the architecture of those fictional spaces.

I draw on elements of the advertisement world of the 60’s and 70’s, from pop, graffiti art, comics and anything else that awakens my curiosity. I very much enjoy placing in each of my creations some hidden messages that don´t necessarily need to be discovered to enjoy the art piece but generate a certain mystery.

Who are your contemporary references? What artists from previous generations are you interested in?

There is no single artist that I take as a concrete reference. I do  like artists like Max Ernst, Kurt Schwitters, Jean Michel Basquiat or Hundertwasser among others. And the esthetics in the drawings of George Grosz and the cartoons of Fritz Freleng.

What would you like to contribute to the world through your art?

I don´t actually pretend for my art to contribute anything too relevant to the world. What I do seek through my style is for the spectator to get inside my artwork and activate his creativity and imagination. And of course, through observation, enjoy at least a small part of what I enjoy creating them.