Nomadix recently sat down with artist Jose Berrio to chat all things collab collection, artists that have impacted his work, and how he stays inspired.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background: Where are you from, what’s your artist journey been like, and how would you describe your art/design style?
I am from Bogotá, Colombia. When I finished high school I had no idea what to study. The thing I loved the most was music, but I had never studied or played any instrument consistently, so at the time it didn’t feel like a good idea to pursue it as a career. Thanks to a series of circumstances related to my family, I ended up enrolling in a short graphic design program that was focused on digital design (this seemed appealing because I also felt that I wasn’t good at drawing and manual arts in general).
From the very first moment, Photoshop became my way to express my love for music, making posters and logos for both friends and imaginary bands. Once I graduated from that program, I worked at a few offices for almost 7 years doing mostly web design and advertising, while also using some of my free time to keep making posters. Eventually, I decided to quit and used my savings to move to New York to work as a freelance designer/illustrator. This year actually marked the 10th anniversary since I made that move.
Regarding my graphic style, until now I think it has been very influenced by the intention to digitally emulate that “human-touch” you get to see on analog printing techniques and painting. That has started to change gradually though. Lately I’ve been feeling increasingly interested in doing more stuff with my hands and letting mistakes actually happen. I feel like the rise of AI has pushed me even more in this direction.
Who or what has had an impact on your design style? Do you draw inspiration from specific artists, design trends, or art movements?
When I was still deciding what to study, one of my sisters took me to an exhibition of French graphic designer Alain LeQuernec. Seeing his work in person was determinant at that point of my life. Thanks to one of his posters at the exhibition I also got to know Henri Toulouse Lautrec, another big early inspiration.
Since then my sources of inspiration have been changing quite a lot. Over the last years I’ve been feeling very inspired by the work of artists like Georgia O'keeffe, Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Yves Tanguy, René Magritte, Hilma af Klint, Henri Mattisse, Ken Price, Brian Eno, Sam Ryser, Felicité Landrivon and Baptiste Virot. I’ve also been watching a lot of movies, which has become a big source of joy and new discoveries.
Talking about art movements, a few that come to mind that have been influential to me are the bauhaus, modernism, surrealism, tropicalia, german expressionism, no-wave and tropicanibalismo.
How did the concept of this collection come to life? Walk us through the creative process, from the first spark of an idea to the final designs.
I was sent a brief asking for 3 different abstract illustrations inspired by mountain ranges (Peaks), oceans/rivers (Waves), and flowers/jungle (Orchids), respectively.
For the Peaks illustration, the extra suggestion I got was to make the artwork a little bit figurative, depicting some of the major peaks that can be found in the United States. I based the initial drawing on photos from Mount Whitney, Glacier Peak, Mount Baker, Mount St Helens, Three Sisters, Lassen Peak, and Mount Rainier. For the Waves artwork I got inspired by giant ocean waves and the reflections of sunlight in the water. Meanwhile, the Orchids print was inspired by the shapes and colors of some flowers that can be found in the jungle, like the Orchid Burrageara.
How does this collection reflect your personal style/experiences, artistic evolution, and/or background?
The way the project unfolded is actually very aligned with what I mentioned in the first answer about my journey as an artist. I wanted to do something a bit different from what I usually do - which is mostly digital - by incorporating the original drawings I made on paper. The result is a mix of those drawings and digital elements.
Do you have a favorite towel style in the collection?
I really like how the three of them turned out, but probably the one titled “Peaks” as it represented a particular challenge to illustrate the mountains, while keeping the pattern intentionally abstract.
How do you stay inspired and push your creative boundaries?
I try to be as curious and perceptive as possible, so I can keep identifying new paths to explore that truly excite me. Some things that help with this are traveling, watching older movies, visiting museums and going on walks.
What’s next for you? And where can people follow your work?
Hopefully a lot more music, drawing, painting, and new techniques and obsessions to discover. People can find my work on my website www.joseberrio.com and Instagram @joseberriolesmes
