Family
The surreal drawing from Montreuil's Commode workshop.
)
At
Ugo Gattoni, Dream Scriptwriter
“Quite realistic drawings of a surrealistic world”: This is how Ugo Gattoni describes his world. A world of details drawn on infinite areas thanks to a Rotring. Full of dreams and imagination. As if it were to get away from the Earth and our daily lives, the artist’s upstrokes are an invitation to travel to a suspended time. A time he dreamed about. A garden of wonders, made of legends and other mythologies, where it’s a pleasure to get lost. Ugo Gattoni, a prodigy with the typical name of a character in a spaghetti western, perfectly embodies this relation to time and making. His work is the result of hours and intense diligence in the Atelier Commode, in Montreuil, where he welcomes us – he had just moved his office there. A privilege his group of followers – his best friends – usually has. He wanted to be surrounded by these people to be questioned, disturbed and to always bring perspective to all his new projects, with total freedom. This luxury is essential, so he can create in his own way, far from the sirens of the fashion world. Ugo sometimes reminds people of Dali. And even if he admits he doesn’t perfectly know the Spanish master’s works, his consistency enables him to collaborate with the most prestigious luxury companies. He became their protégé. The last company he worked with? Hermès. In January, the fifth artist’s interpretation for the very cult scarf of the brand will come out. He also seduced Pierre Frey, as he likes abstract and figurative strokes. Ugo imagined an entire collection of wallpapers, inspired by his last trip in Peru. For this genius, it seems that reality always ends transforming into fiction.
Location
Paris
Author
Constance Gennari
Photographer
Constance Gennari
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
TSF
Ugo, can you tell us about your work?
Ugo
My work is an invitation to travel, to dream and sometimes to play… Thanks to the drawings, I create worlds that are more or less big and profuse. I think the goal is to offer a suspended time, in which we could tell stories, stroll, wander as much as we want. Leave the Earth and your daily life to explore something else. Most of the time, I draw phantasmagorical frescos, in order to plunge and to include the “traveller” into this world. The change of scales, from the giant dimension to the tiny details, is also an interesting tool I’m interested in, so you can get lost in these drawn labyrinths, by always choosing your way. It’s also about writing and being patient, of course.
TSF
Who are the other people working here?
Ugo
My best friends, with whom I have been living and working for 8 years now. With Nicolas Rouyer, the founder of the Figure photo booths, and Jean-Simon Roch, a designer, we constantly talk about our own creative projects. It encourages them to go further, disturbs them and bring them some perspective. Sometimes we even collaborate. Well, actually we are 7: Figure (Nicolas and his two colleagues, Victorien and Benoît),Tohu-Bohu – a textile designer -, Victor Desfond – a shoe designer -, and Jean-Simon Roch, a designer.
TSF
In your work, who inspires you the most?
Ugo
Who? I don’t really know. But my dreams are a really good base for my writing. I love legends, mythology, and I often use it for my works. I have a very surrealistic way of drawing, and a lot of people say I’m close to Dali for example. I can’t say I’m not interested in his work, but I don’t really know it. I don’t know, I’d rather say my trips, dreams, and stories inspire me.
)
)
)
)
)
)
TSF
How would you describe your world, your style?
Ugo
Maybe a fantasised world. It is detailed and profuse. It’s a quite realistic way of drawing a surrealistic world.
TSF
Can you tell us more about your career?
Ugo
I got a diploma in visual communication from the EPSAA in 2010. I didn’t want to work in an agency, so I preferred drawing. My first project after school was a fresco of 10mx120m, drawn with a Rotring, a work that lasted 8 months. A microcosm of details about my daily life in a fantastic world. It has been my first step into the world of illustration. After this, I had a lot of projects, one of which was my first experience in animation with Caravan Palace’s video clip in 2012. Then, there was my first book for the Olympic Games in London, Bicycle, the same year, which enabled me to be known outside of France. It has attracted beautiful companies for which I’m working now, such as Hermès, Pierre Frey and Ruinart. Today, I also breathe life into my drawings, which is an even better way to tell my stories.
TSF
Can you tell us about this new collaboration with Hermès?
Ugo
Hermès called me in 2013, a few months after the release of Bicycle. They wanted to meet me, to know who was the author. After several months talking, a beautiful relationship was born between me and this family. They offered me a first collaboration: Hippopolis, released at the end of 2015. I’m currently drawing my fifth scarf. Hermès is one of these companies – just like Pierre Frey – which respects the work of the hand and lets time take its course. It’s the most important thing in my job: time. I can work on a drawing during several months, even years. And they know how to give every condition the artist needs to come out with a handmade and finished work. There is no deadline, no brief; it’s a real collaboration, with a respect for the artist I had never seen elsewhere. Working with them and being part of this family, loyal to its wonderful values, is like a dream.
TSF
What would be your craziest dream?
Ugo
Going on a trip in the cosmos, with all my friends, thanks to flying boats, fly through a sea of clouds and go dancing with a ballet of multicolours asteroids.
)
Mes rêves sont une vraie base d’écriture. J’adore les légendes, la mythologie, qui se retrouvent souvent dans mon travail.
)
)
)
Recreate This Setting with Our Pieces
Related Story
)
Next Up