Lara Zappa

"Following a thought by Picasso that 'art sweeps the soul from the dust of everyday life'
My art enters my everyday life, it does not dictate time, but finds it powerfully like the roots of
a tree that does not stop growing as I dream." – Lara Zappa

In Conversation

Redesigning the Notion of Textile Art

Redefining the boundaries of textile art, Lara Zappa’s creations transcend the notion of craft. She pushes the medium to a contemporary edge, providing a fresh perspective on weaving as a form of artistic expression rather than a mere handicraft.

1. Briefly describe the work you do.

My creative process starts with the emotion of an image, a photograph, often in black and white. I like to play with light and dark contrasts. Starting from the real image and distorting it, making it light through threads, rethinking darkness and light to the shadows that nails and threads create as a metaphor for the emotional contrasts that govern human life.

2. What or who inspires your work and how has that influenced both your work and your identity as an artist?

For several years, art remained just a dream. An aesthetic and creative need that the more pragmatic side of life failed to stifle. Constant research combined with experimentation and the pleasure of using different materials, such as wax or wire mesh as well as yarns, are my way of making art. Making art means giving form to something that does not exist and to achieve what is not there you have to have a slightly unconventional outlook on life, investigate forms and materials like investigating human emotions and then play at subverting everything. Play and try.

3. As you reflect on your artistic journey, could you describe the evolution of your identity as an artist and how it has exceeded your initial expectations?

I don't think I ever had initial expectations, it was a game in the making and still is, a game to learn from. I think I have had some lucky breaks, being part of Miniartextil was one of them, also starting from the fact that one of the artists I take inspiration from is Mimmo Totaro, the founder of this exhibition. The path was also dictated by the place where I was born and grew up with an important textile history to draw inspiration from.

4. How do you view the significance of your contribution to contemporary art in a world that is increasingly shaped by technology?

I think art is an important tool for reading the world, a constant journey where the past influences the present and the present influences the future. I see technology as a tool for art both in terms of the quality of productions and in terms of the enjoyment of art by a wider audience. Art will always retain that 'flavour' of being able to allude to sensations that technology cannot give, such as the pleasure of weaving time into one's existence by making or contemplating works.

5. How do you see the future of your art and the art world evolving in the coming years?

I think of the future of my art making as something that I hope will shape my life even more, hoping that it will be part of it, not only by finding space in the folds of everyday life, but by invading every aspect of it. I believe that a strong limitation of the art world today is not technology but the market, especially for contemporary art. Putting limits on art - so that it falls within the logic of the market or so that it is attractive to a user - weakens and devalues it. I believe the use of Nft narrows the field of artistic expression and is therefore destined to fade away.

6. Get inspired!

INSTAGRAM: @zappalara

Visual Narratives

Explore Endless Inspiration Today!

INTHEARTS Magazine #1

Editor: Rodrigo Franzao

Details

Semi-gloss (216 GSM)
Matte paper (118 GSM)
Portrait, 8.5×11 in (22×28 cm)
60 pages

ISBN: 979-8-88-068384-0

Virtual Print

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