When André Saraiva isn’t overseeing his legendary Hotel Grand Amour located in Paris’ 10th Arrondissement or The Friend bar located in the heart of Silverlake in Los Angeles, California, the artist is juggling exhibition shows or collaborative projects. His portfolio includes the likes of Louis Vuitton, adidas, Tiffany & Co., Converse, Nike, among many others.
Beyond tagging walls or painting canvasses, Saraiva is enamored with drawing these days to escape from the more commercialist aspects of his practice. “In quiet moments, he prefers drawings on scraps of paper or in notebooks, which he’s constantly filling, but rarely shares with others. This is a more personal and intimate activity, far from the commercialism of art,” said the artist’s friend, Oliveir Zahm, in a statement. “In André’s world, drawings have a special currency, like billets-doux to share love. For him, the only way to escape the smothering blanket of capitalism, in or out of the art world, is in things you can’t buy — love and generosity.”
We recently caught up with Saraiva in his new humongous studio in Paris, which he says was once a plane hangar, to discuss his star-studded career, a day in the life in his studio and upcoming projects including his long-awaited Rizzoli book. Check out the exclusive interview below as part of our Studio Visits series.
[flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_title” class=”fl-input” title=”Title” value=”” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”category” title=”Select category”][flexi-form-tag type=”tag” title=”Insert tag”][flexi-form-tag type=”article” class=”fl-textarea” title=”Description” ][flexi-form-tag type=”file” title=”Select file” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”submit” name=”submit” value=”Submit Now”] [/flexi-form]
wazup.