The street artist krayon was invited to Shenzhen, China, by the Jardin Orange Foundation, like Italian excellence, to spend a period of artist residency. Krayon, Italian, from Melfi, is a painter, a street artist, a pixel artist. The pixel it is the basic element on which he builds his works. In 2015 he created TEXTURE in fest, the first street art festival in Melfi, his hometown.
Krayon, how was your art born? Was there a particular moment in your life when you discovered yourself as an artist or is it the result of a long journey of passion and training?
K: It happened quite naturally. From an early age I wanted to create with whatever I could get in my hands. Initially I applied this creativity as a writer, but the word artist it was very far. Later it manifested itself in a different form, also influenced by industrial design studies and a profession as a User Experience Designer.
How did you conquer and maintain your identity as a Pixel artist?
K: Fascinated by Optical Art I started to paint in Pixel Art ten years ago. Few of us use it and everyone investigates and deepens it in a different way. There was also a time when I had stopped my business, but I noticed that, despite this, no one had appropriated this quite unique technique. So I decided to take it up and affirm it by transferring it on different supports, from canvases to large walls. I believe that the factor that still distinguishes me today is constancy and the infinite patience it takes to put it into practice.
Tell us about your art, what inspires you? How is your creation born? What sensations do you want, or would you like to convey?
K: I let myself be inspired by the patterns, by the textures. I enjoy creating contrasts and "digitizing" natural elements.
Mine is one very graphic style. I use pixel art to create optical illusions in the viewer. To be understood, my canvases must be viewed from a right distance. Seen closely they seem abstract, as you move away or frame the canvas or the wall with a camera, you perceive the subject in its entirety.
The feeling that unites and that is perceived by all my works is that often things are better understood when viewed from a distance. Taking your distance. This both in life and in my art.
And then the concept of: LESS IS MORE. Few and simple elements that come straight to the observer.
Photo Gallery
Krayon_canvas_pineapple
Krayon_canvas_pineapple
Krayon_wall_East & West_Shenzhen
Krayon_wall_East & West_Shenzhen
Krayon_canvas_china
Krayon_canvas_china
What did this experience teach you in China?
K: When I received the invitation from the Foundation to do this artist residency, I took it as a challenge to get out of my comfort zone. But working here I discovered that in reality I lived and worked in the "discomfort" area and, even if far from home, you can find many points of contact in cultures so different from ours.
The tension, the stress that has been created in the Western world has transformed people. What I see in China is a simpler and more natural dimension of living, there is no European attitude of overpowering man. Here I notice less hypocrisy and a great desire to create community.
What do you want to say to the young people who cultivate the dream of being called artists?
K: We assume that the word artist is attributed by others. Those who make art do it in a natural way, without attributing this name to themselves. The important thing is that what you do, you do it to feel good and for personal pleasure. Undoubtedly, finding feedback from the public is gratifying and encouraging. The only advice I can give to young people who cultivate this dream is to find the best way and language to express yourself. And I assure you that, when what is created is authentic and done with sincerity, it will also be recognized and appreciated by the public.
You are Italian: what do you bring with you, around the world, of your roots and of your land? Have these influenced your art in some way?
K: It's inevitable. The purpose of this residence is above all to test on oneself how one's background can be influenced by the encounter with another culture. Certainly in the artistic field, Italian culture plays an important role. However, I regret that it is more useful abroad than in Italy. At least here in China I have been able to see that there is great openness towards Italians. The image of the "Bell'Italia”That we have created over the years, is seen here as a lifestyle to follow.
