Wine Art in Barolo

 PurpleRyta

PurpleRyta, Rita Barbero, is an Artist who lives and works in the Langhe area and creates unique wine art on paper. In close contact with the world of wine each day, she is inspired by it. And two essential beliefs have always driven her passion for art: simplify reality and colour the world. Possibly in purple!

Wine Art in Barolo

With PurpleRyta’s wine creations on paper, it communicates her values and her strong conviction that we have to give value to our territory for its culture. PurpleRyta reminds us of this with her philosophy: Wine contains culture and culture contains wine in order to emphasize that, behind a glass of wine, there is a rich cultural heritage.

The Most Impolite

Let’s learn about this unique technique of wine art on paper and the Artist behind it. Here’s Rita Barbero in her own words…

When did you become an artist?

I always worked in wine communication and I always painted. At a certain point, these two things collided (or met) and I started to paint with wine. In June 2013, at the age of 40, the little hidden passion for painting became stronger than ever and, while I was decorating the interiors of a wine shop in Barolo literally surrounded by wine, I decided to try to paint with wine.  Today my artistic identity coincides with the painting technique I use: to pour wine on paper to create a spot of wine that is the beginning of the creative process that produces the final work of art. I drew since I was a child but I decided to be an artist when I sold my first wine-on-paper work of art, later on that year.

I consider my painting technique another way…to communicate wines connected to its area of origin.

If you could go back in time, what period would you have liked to live in as an artist?

In the 1960’s, when the world was changing under the push of new mass media such TV and economic boom; a time when Pop Art was the best way to express a strong criticism towards society.

How would you characterize your artistic style?

My wine on paper paintings are a mix of abstract and figurative styles: I drop a spot of wine on the paper and, once it is dried, I complete the drawing with the same wine using the brush and giving a shape and a figurative meaning to the work of art. The very first wine on paper creations were messy haired women because I saw, in the wine spot, a weird but nice hairstyle. Other subjects are born from the wine drop: fishes, faces, dresses, eyes.

The Kiss

When I do not use the spot technique, I paint directly with the brush to obtain more precision, but I always leave more colour (wine) than needed so that the wine can mesh with the paper and can create unexpected effects.

The Dreamer

I chose to paint with wine with a gesture that someone can perceive as irreverent (pouring wine on paper) because I know the true value of wine: behind a glass of wine there are men and women, families, tradition, terroir, culture. The Langhe and Barolo wine regions have a lot to offer but, sometimes, we’re not able to show our richness. With my gesture I say: Stop a moment, Think! It’s my provocation.

Which artists have influenced you?

I don’t know if I can say that they influenced me; for sure, Marc Chagall is my favourite painter: sometimes I can recognize in my paintings the dreamlike guise that can remind the artistic world of Chagall. And Andy Warhol…he was very graphic and used the replication of the works as a message to the audience. In my case, each art piece is unique because there cannot be two wine spots that are the same; but I can replicate the subject.

Free Your Mind

How would you describe your artwork?

In one word: Research. I always say that I am not the first and I won’t be the last artist to paint with wine. But I do it in my own style and I’m always working to discover new effects of the wine colour on paper or other mediums. And in every piece of artwork, there’s something new. It’s the energy of wine that passes through the wine drop!

Wine on paper paintings are also eco-friendly. Wine is used pure and the paper is 100% natural cotton and acid free. All the accessories wine on paper uses gives the positive value of recycling materials that are usually considered garbage after use. I give them the opportunity to have a second life. The technique I use to paint respects the nature of wine and underlines the uniqueness of the colour of wines. Barolo and Barbera express in a very different way on the paper.

Today my wine on paper paintings are ambassadors of the Langhe and Italian wines all around the world. And a few of them became labels for special wine bottles, where the same wine that is inside the bottle is also used to paint the label….it comes full circle.

What advice can you give aspiring artists?

If you want to be an artist, just be. Never give up, never lie to yourself. Observe the world and send your message…somebody will embrace it.

Wine can be dangerous for ignorance. Wine contains culture. – Rita Barbero

Passion is the most important value in life. PurpleRyta was born from a dream and passion for painting and encourages other people to follow their dreams. For more about PurpleRyta, her wine art in Barolo and to view some of her artwork, visit: www.purpleryta.it

PurpleRyta on Facebook

PurpleRyta Wine Art – Instagram

Visit PurpleRyta’s Atelier in Barolo. PurpleRyta also offers wine art painting classes.

PURPLEPLACE

Address: Via Vittorio Emanuele 4, BAROLO – visit by appointment