Hugo's work is stunningly sophisticated. I love the strong use of type in his collages, they really show his knowledge of this area. It has a vintage as well as new quality, the way he uses black, bright whites, and creamy beige. The theme of his collages makes sense, as he also teaches typography.
Name (Real or Screename): Hugo Werner
URL (Blog, Website): www.hugowerner.com, www.flickr.com/photos/hugowerner/
Location (Where are you from?): Brazil
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: You can call it a complete fabrication of memories.
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: I usually work from cutouts of old magazines, from the 60s-70s, or from ink-jet printed photos (analogue and digital) I take. I also work with laser prints and copies from catalogues, paper ephemera and printed matter I may find at random.
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I begin doing collages back in 1999... I’m not sure about what made me start using it. I was looking for different techniques to apply to some personal projects. It wasn’t a path that I was consciously aware of or looking for. I just progressively started to use it more and more, but there is definitely the influence of starting to work with sketchbooks and ideation books.
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I’m a graphic designer by training, working with typography and motion design. But I also teach part-time, the same disciplines, at a local university.
Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I’m an Art Center College of Design grad (Pasadena, CA).
Q: Explain your favorite techniques.
A: I start from random cutouts, based on different themes or just by form association. These initial connections can turn into a background or foreground that I like to develop later. I usually don’t try to “solve” a collage at once. Some work can spend several days or even weeks, in a very slow and incremental way... Other images are finished in a matter of a few hours. I use typography, solvent transfers, stencils, lettering, tapes here and there, but it’s mainly just paper and glue.
Q: Describe your favorite piece ever created.
A: I honestly don’t have a ‘favorite ever’... But to some works I could use: “Nothing sorts out memories from ordinary moments. Only later they do claim remembrance when they show their scars”, from Chris Marker’s - La Jetteé.
Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: It’s hard to name just a few... But I have to mention the work of designers and artists like Ed Fella, Martin Venezky, Charles Wilkin, Wolfgang Weingart, Tschihold, Max Ernst, Raul Hausmann, Kurt Schwitters, Moholy-Nagy, Marcel Duchamp, Hannah Höch, Heartfield, Peter Beard, Romare Bearden and Basquiat.
Thanks Hugo!