When PRINT’s own Zachary Petit interviewed award-winning illustrator Amber Vittoria last March, it was hard not to get consumed by the vibrantly colorful world she’s imagined. Through ribbons, strips, and blobs of radiant color, she explores the female form as well as what it means to be a woman now.
Recently, Vittoria unveiled her first two NFT collections on Open Sea, “Final Forms” and the “Alphabet Collection.” Because if you don’t have an NFT collection, are you even designing? Are you even rating?
“Final Forms” explores aging and evolving into what we’re meant to become when we “rejoin with the universe,” and with the Alphabet, she dropped all 26 letters across ten color palettes. She has since released two more collections in that time (the “Unique” and “Innaugural” series), indicating that she’s been a very busy artist, indeed. Regardless, Vittoria remains an artist to watch, particularly as her work continues to gain momentum with audiences and collectors alike as her practice takes on greater meaning and matures.
We spoke with Vittoria about the Final Forms Collection and her feelings about diving into the world of NFTs.
What was the principal idea behind the Final Forms collection? What were you trying to get at?
The goal of this collection is to celebrate aging, something all of us experience and that few of us (myself included) embrace. Physically and emotionally changing with time has been something I’ve pushed against, and the creation of this collection has helped me reframe growing into who I will become.
What are your thoughts about jumping into the NFT space?
The NFT community has been truly incredible; not only do folks champion the artists they support, but they also offer kindness, suggestions, and ideas as we navigate this new, ever-changing space together.
Selling NFTs is less of a rerouting and more of adding another element to my sales repertoire. The community of people who collect NFTs not only go out of their way to re-invest their earnings from blue-chip projects into individual artists, but they are always willing to take the time to chat with me about upcoming ideas I may have on how to strengthen my strategies, and they go out of their way to share my work.
Two of the pieces in Final Forms—”Holding my breath” and “All of my last breaths”—were particularly striking. The act of taking a breath is to take a literal pause, maybe because something feels overwhelming and you need a reset or to hold something in—but the colors used have a soothing, warm quality that’s incongruent with something uncomfortable. What were you trying to get at with those?
It also could just be that I hate the act of holding my breath, and I’m projecting!
“All Of My Last Breaths” is a memory of the places I have physically been to that I may never have the opportunity to see again. It’s a reminder to myself to be as present as possible. And “Hold Your Breath” speaks to box breathing (in for four counts, hold for four counts, out for four counts, and rest for four counts) as a method of walking oneself back from diving into a scenario emotionally that is not yet experienced, or may never be experienced, physically.
I read that a lot of your color palette inspiration comes from nature and that you keep a lot of photos of flowers and sunsets on your phone. Given that this collection focuses on growth and a sort of collective feminine evolution, I was wondering how the natural world might have inspired this series?
Yes! This collection was created while I was staying near Bryce Canyon National Park, and the soft enveloping colors are inspired by the aging palettes of the park.
