Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Featured Artist Fernanda Lavera's fascination for art began through the love of sketching and textures passed down by her aunt.
With every centimeter covered in vivid hues and contemporary objects transformed into symbols, her work exudes an urban air, creating an unidentifiable atmosphere.
Lavera's art reveals seemingly recognizable forms amidst abstract and primitive elements, drawing you into a world of inner turmoil.
Her images seem to burst forth from the depths, showcasing outlandish forms in vibrant colors that create an unexpected expressiveness as if they were born from the artist's subconscious sketches.
Appearing among the recognizable forms are symbols, objects, and everyday contours that approach the realm of Pop Art. Her diverse range of themes ranges from psychedelic cartoons juxtaposed with figures of rabid cats and race cars to the expression of visibly disturbing events.
With an intuitive approach to painting, she explores her moods freely, using colors and light to express the mystery of life.
Artwork Archive had the chance to chat with Fernanda Lavera about her creative process, the inspiration behind her work, and how Artwork Archive helps her manage her art business.
You can see more of her work on Discovery and learn more about her art practice below.
Fernanda Lavera in her studio. Photo courtesy of the artist
Do you have a favorite or most satisfying part of your process? If so, can you share a bit about it?
My favorite part of the process as an artist is the previous moment, the part before I start painting where I get to prepare everything.
For me, it's like a fantasy.
I like to define it as the seed stage, where the brain plants a seed within us, which leads to many other things.
But in the end, it never ends. The fantasy is infinite.
Pop Art seems to influence some of your themes, with symbols, objects, and everyday contours appearing in your work. What draws you to explore diverse themes from psychedelic cartoons to disturbing events?
The elements in my paintings are figurative in style, making them different from Pop Art.
Exploration, as I mentioned before, happens when we plant the seed. Our ability to understand and process what is happening to us makes exploration possible.
In the case of my art, when I start to create a new painting in my head, the characters that appear have to do with situations I'm experiencing at that moment in my life.
People who appear in my life become characters that enter my canvas.
As the great master Picasso said, "Painting is just another way of keeping a journal". It is like this.
My canvas is an intimate diary dictated by whatever happens to me on any given day. The stories take shape and composition, and new characters are born.
Fernanda Lavera, Monkey Mind V, 59 x 93 in. Monkey Mind refers to a Buddhist term, an illness from the XXI century. When our minds have unresolved issues, it’s unsettled, restless, whimsical and confused in one thought or the other. In this piece, we can see how confused monkeys are displayed on the canvas.
What impact do you hope your artwork will have on viewers?
As long as there is an impact, it is enough for me.
I think that for any artist, the important thing is that someone stops to see the work and doesn't pass by, right?
You may or may not like it, and it has nothing to do with that. Instead, it's about what it emotes inside you.
What does success as an artist mean to you?
Being successful is part of recognition. I think that, deep down, we all want to be recognized.
I believe that we are all born wanting to be acknowledged—by our parents, families, and friends. So I hope to accomplish that.
Fernanda Lavera, 'Bosque Forever', 79 x 126 in, Between the months of July and August in 2021, I was lucky enough to be invited by a gallery owner to paint and exhibit at her gallery in Pound Ridge, New York. That summer, I painted every afternoon. On the gallery's business card, a forest appeared, where there was a rabbit and a horse, which were transported directly to the canvas once I returned from my trip. In my atelier, greens and browns play as camouflage, with a rabbit and Roxy, Bernadette's mare, my gallerist.
You have an incredibly unique and beautiful artist's studio. How does your physical environment contribute to your artistic process?
I feel blessed. I am lucky to live in a three-story home in a beautiful porteño neighborhood in the heart of Buenos Aires with my old dog and my 10-month-old Chihuahua.
My atelier is on the third floor, and it has this brilliant glass dome. A lot of light enters, and I always see the birds fly by the window.
Millions of things happen from here that inspire me every day. It's where fantasies happen, and my characters come to life.
Why did you decide to use Artwork Archive to inventory/manage your artwork?
My team and I decided to use Artwork Archive to inventory and manage my artwork for several reasons.
I have a large inventory distributed across multiple locations in the United States, Europe, and Argentina. Initially, we relied on Excel spreadsheets, but as the pieces moved frequently, it became difficult to stay organized.
After researching stock management solutions for artists, we came across Artwork Archive and it has proven to be a valuable asset.
The platform improved communication between our locations, which was previously a major challenge.
It also centralized all the information for each piece, making it easy to access and share with third parties through the platform itself, or by exporting reports.
Artwork Archive has significantly enhanced our inventory management by addressing our specific challenges and providing a user-friendly interface.
It's become an essential tool for efficiently managing our artwork across multiple locations.
Fernanda Lavera, 'Juego Solitario III', 79 x 126 in, This work tells the story of a girl who during her childhood, could not play. Today in her atelier the girl returns, alone and lonely, to play.
How do you use Artwork Archive on a daily basis?
Artwork Archive functions as our central database for managing my entire artwork inventory.
A noteworthy feature that greatly benefits our commercial processes is the ability to create Private Rooms. This feature enables us to securely share selected pieces with clients.
The Reports feature also proves invaluable, eliminating the need for extra design work and expediting our workflow.
Artwork Archive has streamlined our operations, making it easy to communicate and simplify my art business.
What advice would you give an emerging artist during this time?
I'm fortunate to be able to talk to many artists through social networks.
Many of them write to me to show me their work and to ask me for an opinion. I love listening to them, helping them, and being able to give them feedback.
What I always tell them is this—believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, no one will.
Fernanda Lavera in her studio, photo courtesy of the artist
Fernanda Lavera uses Artwork Archive to catalog her artwork, keep track of her locations, share work with prospective clients, and so much more.
You can make an online portfolio, catalog your artwork, and generate reports like inventory reports, tear sheets, and invoices in seconds with Artwork Archive. Take a look at Artwork Archive's free trial and start growing your art business.
