Here at Slowdown Studio we love collaborating with emerging and established artists from across the globe. We recently had the opportunity to chat with Nina Izycka, the artist behind the new Figurines Art Print. Originally from Warsaw, Nina's work is deeply shaped by Polish poster art and illustration from the mid-to-late 20th century - bold, graphic, and always with a strong point of view.
Who do you think is the most exciting emerging creative in your city?
There are a lot of amaizing artists and illustrators living in Barcelona. It is very dicult to name one. But I can name some worplaces where really talented illsutrators work and where are interesting selection of zines, books and expositions. Some of them are Buet Lliure, Just Do It Studio, TeQuiero Mucho gallery, Diluvio Universal, Taller Fosforito, Fatbottom, La Fabrica Rarita and a lot of more that I don’t recall now.
Where are your favourite places to go in your city?
Botanic garden in Montjuic, beach in Montgat, houses of my friends, my workshop, the
screen print workshop where I work in school EA Massana, the falafel place Haifa.
What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself when you were starting out in art?
Believe in myself and not take everything too personal. Trust the process and enjoy it.
What are you listening to in your studio at the moment?
Recently I listen to polish rap and Brazilian music, older one, bosa nova and some Brazilian funk.
Figurines Art Print by Nina Izycka
What inspired your design for this latest print design?
Pre-colombian sculptures of little characters and animals.
What's your favorite way to slow down?
Go to the beach, walk in the mountains, eat lunch with people i love, being in the nature.
What's the most memorable book you've read in the last few years?
I think "All about love” of Bell Hooks. Is very beautiful book about diferent kinds of love and how to and them in life. It gave me a lot of good feeling and hope in a dicult moment of my life.
What has been the happiest/most rewarding moment of your art career?
I think the commission from the New York Times Book Review to illustrate the Charlotte Wood's “The Natural Way of Things” review. It was a very big moment for me and felt very grateful for this opportunity.
How does living in your city inuence your work? Is there anything about your city that has defined how or what you create?
Barcelona is very live city in illustration. It is very inspiring to keep working while surrounded by so many talented illustrators, zine and book fairs, exhibitions, books presentations etc. It is also a place where so many different people and cultures live together and it is also very inspiring for me and my work to see this mixture of so different visual universes. There are also a lot of old architecture and sculptures that I like to watch and take photos, to have my library of images so they can be my references when I don’t know what to draw. I also really like to go to the mountains that
from the city is really easy to get and be inspired by the plants and animals that liuve around us.
What are you most excited/looking forward to this year?
To publish my first graphic novel "Vivir en un árbol” that we will publish together with La Granja, a publishing house from Madrid. It is the biggest project I have ever worked on so far, so I am really exited to see it finished and available for people to see it in bookstores and book festivals.
Instagram: @ninaizycka
