The unexpected relations of artist Otto D'Ambra
Paula Andriguetto, March 2017.
"Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see." Rene Magritte.
Sometimes art confuses us, sometimes art makes such terrible sense that the best way you can describe one specific feeling or reaction is through that sense-full art piece. It is hard to happen, but when it does, it is almost always something very intimate and personal - a feeling that perhaps you shared with the artist, or something that the artist could describe with more meaning that you could ever had. Art has this kind of power… sometimes it can gently touch an open wound that you didn't even know was still open.
I had a hard time trying to break down into words the work of Otto d'Ambra, maybe because his work talked to me in that kind of way. Two lung-shaped hearts making easier to breath kind of way.
Otto's art pieces are always very strong and carry a platform of beautiful details and complex figures. It resembles the latest period of Magritte and also shares a lot of surrealism. Otto presents his work as drawing, etching (the process of cutting into the unprotected parts of a metal surface, creating a design incised in the metal) and also tattooing. He manages to accomplish perfection on details on each of the techniques he masters.
Otto is Italian but based out of London, where he owns the studio “The White Elephant” - a multifunctional space where he converges different art forms.
"Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see." Rene Magritte.
Sometimes art confuses us, sometimes art makes such terrible sense that the best way you can describe one specific feeling or reaction is through that sense-full art piece. It is hard to happen, but when it does, it is almost always something very intimate and personal - a feeling that perhaps you shared with the artist, or something that the artist could describe with more meaning that you could ever had. Art has this kind of power… sometimes it can gently touch an open wound that you didn't even know was still open.
I had a hard time trying to break down into words the work of Otto d'Ambra, maybe because his work talked to me in that kind of way. Two lung-shaped hearts making easier to breath kind of way.
Otto's art pieces are always very strong and carry a platform of beautiful details and complex figures. It resembles the latest period of Magritte and also shares a lot of surrealism. Otto presents his work as drawing, etching (the process of cutting into the unprotected parts of a metal surface, creating a design incised in the metal) and also tattooing. He manages to accomplish perfection on details on each of the techniques he masters.
Otto is Italian but based out of London, where he owns the studio “The White Elephant” - a multifunctional space where he converges different art forms.
Modern Anatomy Adam and Eve, Otto D'Ambra.
Could you tell us a little bit about your background (where did you grew up, how was your childhood like, what did you wanted to be wen you grew up)?
I was born in 1978 in Milan, Italy. I can say I grew up in a small big town and as a 10 year old I had lots of dreams and hopes for the future. It was just 28 years ago but things were much different. I grew up without mobile phones, internet, social networks and tv streaming. I grew up with music tapes, floppy disks and land line phones. I should feel really old saying this, but I don’t because I know that it all happened so quick in a really short time. I feel like i’ve been living between the past and the future. Childhood was fun as it should be, i had a lot of dreams but i don’t remember them anymore. Maybe they are still the same of maybe finally they are coming true.
When did you stared to illustrate?
My Parents studied graphic design so I found myself surrounded by pencils, colours and art tools since I was a child. It came pretty natural to me to play and gain confidence with art. That was probably my first approach to illustration. Since then i’ve been drawing almost every day.
When did you know that you wanted to start into tattoo?
I didn’t expected to see myself one day working as a tattoo artist. I started tattooing when i was 28. At that time I was working as a set designer and I was getting a bit bored of it, so I wanted to find another way to express myself and I decided to learn how to tattoo. At the beginning it was just for fun, tattooing just as an art expression and a way to free my creativity. I was tattooing friends over the weekend.
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Unexpected Relations, Otto D'Ambra
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The Believer, Otto D'Ambra
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True Hurts, Otto D'Ambra
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What was the craziest response you had from your work?
A couple of guys came over to me during a tattoo convention and asked me to take a picture as if I were a VIP.
What was the last art piece that you saw and you truly connected with?
This a really hard question for me to reply as it happens to me really often to feel connected with art pieces. When I pick a book from my shelves I find myself rediscovering a strong connection with some pieces of art that I had forgotten. From Guernica (Picasso) to “piazze d’Italia” (De Chirico) and “Empire of Light” (Magritte), every time I realise once again how amazing these artworks are and when I see them again I fall in love like the first time.
Who are some of the artists that have influenced you?
I’ve been influenced by a lot of artists from the past and the present. I think it’s really nice to be influenced by other artists for two main reasons, first it means you are sharing ideas, concepts and points of view with someone else in this world and second it helps you to understand better who you are. Sometimes you know well who the artists that influence your work are, some other time you are unconsciously influenced by them. Among my favourite artists that have a strong impact on my work there are Picasso, Dali’ , De Chirico and last but not least Magritte .I also recently rediscovered Basquiat which it’s a really different from my work and it’s probably the reason why I feel this strong attraction for his art.
Courage and Imagination, Otto D'Ambra
"Human skin can be defined “divine canvas”(…). One of the reasons that got me closer to tattooing was the thought of having one of my artworks living, breathing and walking. I see this as a really strong chain between the artwork and life itself."
Love, Otto D'Ambra
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Dangerous Animal, Otto D'Ambra
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Behind the Beauty, Otto D'Ambra
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Want to be free, Otto D'Ambra
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Your art is done on the greatest canvas - a person skin. What do you feel when you are marking someone else's body and life with your art?
Human skin can be defined “divine canvas”, but it is not the greatest, as far as I’m concerned, because it changes and perishes in time, mutating the original artwork. I feel it’s like a privilege, because it’s not just working on someone’s skin, but it’s also growing a strong connection with these people. One of the reasons that got me closer to tattooing was the thought of having one of my artworks living, breathing and walking. I see this as a really strong chain between the artwork and life itself.
What is freedom to you?
I think today freedom is when you have the power to manage your time. Nowadays we are trapped by time running by, always running late chasing something that we created. I think today freedom is been able to leave technology behind and live real life to the fullest, instead of enjoying just the virtual one.
Do you find that creativity is something you have to nurture?
Definitely. Creativity doesn’t come and nurture by itself, it needs to be constantly nurtured. It’s like when you practising any sport, if you are fit it comes easier to do some kind of exercises while if you are not fit it’ll become more difficult. The fitter you are the easier it’ll be. It works the same for creativity, if you train your brain you make it more flexible and more creative, able to read and convert from the everyday life messages into images and viceversa.
The White Elephant Studio - Otto D'Ambra
The White Elephant Studio - Otto D'Ambra
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The White Elephant Studio - Otto D'Ambra
The White Elephant Studio - Otto D'Ambra
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If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?
I love food, i love cooking and eating so i would say if I weren’t an artist i probably would have been a chef which i think it still can relate to the art industry. I’m probably saying that cause i’m Italian and we are known to celebrate food as an art expression.
How much does your personal life and emotions influence your work?
A lot. Personal life influences everyone’s work and when you are an artist and you express yourself and your thoughts it’s even more evident how your life affects your work. The artistic path reflects the artist’s experience and his mood and it’s inevitable to show them and let them emerge in the art pieces you’re working on. As I previously said, everyone’s affected by their personal life in their job. For example, a taxi driver carries you around the city, but it doesn’t matter if he’s upset or not, you’ll still reach your destination, while If I’m upset and angry while producing a piece of art, you can definitely tell by the result you see on canvas.
You had an exhibition called " We are all Animals" at the Duke Gallery. I read that this exhibition was a critic to today's society. Could you tell us a little bit about that?
The title wants to provoke and make people think about how strong our animal instincts still are in a modern society that wants people to believe that the world we live in is improved and our lives simplified, by progress, technology and constant development. This society we live in is actually just an illusion that brings us, without us noticing, to be the victims of our own instincts, to lose our singularity and individual thinking. We often lose awareness of what our real needs are and we find ourselves living in an ever more distorted reality where our illusory wellbeing is mainly determined by the opinion others have of us. We find ourselves today needing things that allow us not to feel excluded from the group as a result we forgot who we really are.
The Thinker, Otto D'Ambra
Could you share with us your projects and exhibitions for 2017?
Some tattoo conventions around Europe this year, a solo show in Turin (Italy) and at the moment I’m working on a personal exhibition in a gallery in Brussels planned for the middle of April. The gallery is part of a project that connects with another dozen galleries in a neighbourhood in Brussels that will last for a whole week. I’m planning to do a solo show in Beijing, but I’m still in the process and I’m not sure it’s going to happen before the end of 2017.
Business, Otto D'Ambra
