"Art makes you dream" - Interview with Regina Kioko Ikeda Ferretti
Regina Kioko Ikeda Ferretti, of Japanese descent, was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. From an early age, the women of the family taught her many manual activities, from embroidery to drawing. With this important legacy, the artist has been able to develop manual skills over the years and experiment with different materials and media. She studied architecture at Mackenzie University in São Paulo, and then Art and Restoration in Florence.
She is trained as an architect, but calls herself an art craftswoman. When did you become one?
I think I have always been one: working as a stage design assistant and an architect, I learned to use different tools and techniques, from painting to using textiles to clay. So I call myself an art artisan because I work with what I find, or what happens.
You are of Japanese descent and grew up in Brazil. How does the aesthetic tradition of two such different countries converge in your identity as an artist?
The Japanese side is expressed in being methodical and always giving my best. The Brazilian side, on the other hand, in color, cheerfulness and joie de vivre.
You are a multidisciplinary artist who uses many techniques and materials, from painting to photography. What is art for you?
The most important thing about art is to communicate, to convey what you feel, a message. This is more fundamental than aesthetics. In addition, art also makes you dream: in fact, I mix reality with fantasy in my work.
Subject ofyour works are often women. What about the female universe do you wish to bring out through art?
The strength and creativity within us. For so many years we have been subjugated, now we can claim , even with art, our place in the world.
What will the intervention you are making in Lugano be about?
The title is "Stai Sirena" and it depicts a mermaid bathing in a tub. The idea is to represent a moment of well-being, in which to do what we enjoy: an opportunity that it is important to look for in our lives, especially in a time that appears full of problems. A moment to enjoy life.
What are your upcoming projects?
An exhibition at the Mendrisio Spinning Mill, in collaboration with the Raiffeisen Bank, titled "Beyond the Real" with a series of 30 works has recently concluded. In addition, I have my atelier in Caslano where I work daily.
Regina Kioko Ikeda Ferretti is at work on a wall in Via Bertaro Lambertenghi, from 18 to 22.07. On 22.07 at 5 p.m. aperitif with the artist next to the wall.
