When Lines & Colors go out for a walk

Amsterdam born, Barcelona based Mirthe Blussé is a multi-disciplinary artist. Her illustrative and lively work is full of color and a liberating feeling. We spoke in Tokyo when she came over to collaborate on an art project and hold her exhibition at our beloved Kaisu Gallery.

Mirthe works in design, illustration and art. And she actually really enjoys this mix:

I have always liked to work in more than one artistic discipline. During art academy I combined my design curriculum with learning fine art and printing techniques.
I spent hours and hours in the graphic ateliers and at the print workshops. For me, the lines between art fields are blurry. I don’t think in boxes when I work creatively.

For my graduation project for instance I created a fictive restaurant, LA FOLIE. I set up the restaurant interior, designed and produced a line of LA FOLIE table linen for it at Textiel Lab, and created posters, packaging and stationery for the restaurant. 
It worked out so well, that it enabled me to start selling my LA FOLIE linens in design shops and a small gallery.

Studio Mirthe Blussé

After graduation, I wanted to continue to work on different projects, so I set up my own studio. I found a studio space in one of the big creative hubs of Amsterdam, the Volkskrantgebouw, where I was one of the first tenants.

There, I met so many great people and a lot of projects came almost naturally my way. I am so thankful for that! I have worked with festival producers, museums, DJs, magazines, publishers, product designers, performance artists and foodies there. 
Sure, it wasn’t easy to start out independently, but it has definitely been worth it. You have to create your own life.

Color and simplicity of form

I don’t think I have one style. I would get so bored! But I definitely like strong and simple images. So color and simplicity of form have always been characteristics of my work. Colors can be so powerful. They can strongly influence my mood.

Lately my color palette has changed. I think this has to do with my move from Amsterdam to Barcelona, 1,5 year ago. 
In Holland I preferred to work with primary colors. I guess I was strongly influenced by Mondriaan, Werkman and De Stijl.

Now that I live in Barcelona, I am using very different colors: aquamarin blue, bright greens, orange, bright pink, dark yellow… Basically, the colors that I see here around me every day.

Inspiration

I get my inspiration from everywhere. I am an observer, I am always looking around me, with my little notebook at hand. Here in Tokyo I look at Japanese packaging, book covers, posters and art. And how people decorate their houses and bars.

I visited the stores of Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, just to look at the colors of their designs, to feel the textures and to see how they created the shop windows and interior.

And I love to explore Tokyo’s little backstreets. This city has so many contrasts!

Creative collabs

I like creative collaborations. They help me to develop myself in new directions. Most of my collaborations started out quite spontaneously: people approached me because they liked my work, or I approached them because I love what they do.

Here in Tokyo I worked together with five other artists on a big mural painting for a Japanese client. The whole artistic process was recorded and will be shown in a museum.

In Amsterdam, I recently designed patterns for the summer collection of fashion brand Everyday Counts. They asked me to create both abstract and free patterns for them. It was such a dream project. And Amsterdam’s creative hotel Volkshotel asked me to design t-shirts and stationery gadgets for the hotel: so much fun!

In Barcelona I have collaborated with fashion photographer Willy Villacorta, mixing a series of fashion photography with graphic art, which was published in Institute Magazine.

Since I moved to Spain I have also customized shoes with my designs, created packaging designs in a workshop with design studio MUCHO, and customized a puf for Confederación Aspace.
For me, all these projects came about from mutual inspiration and good vibes. I am always open to new collaborations.

Free Jazz

I love my new hometown Barcelona. It is a cosmopolitan city, full of color, with a beach where I can surf, sail and swim. I feel very free here. 
The change of environment has influenced my work a lot. I am so inspired that I started painting again. Right now I am working on some abstract canvasses. 
I also created a series of artworks on paper: ’Free Jazz’, inspired by my love for jazz music. I grew up with music and love to go to live jam sessions. In Amsterdam I used to go to Bimhuis, Alto and to the Cottonclub. In Barcelona the options are countless.

While making the ‘Free Jazz’ series, I listened to live jazz recordings by Benjamin Herman and Oscar Peterson Trio and tried to translate the music into art. I experimented with mixing ink, pencil, crayon and collage to create rhythms and sounds on paper. I am now exhibiting my ‘Free Jazz’ series here in Tokyo.

It has been really interesting to see people’s reactions on my work here. For once, I felt that the Japanese language barrier didn’t exist: many people had a click with my artwork without needing a prior explanation. This made me very happy.

Future

I trust that I will keep on meeting the right people and finding the right projects. Sofar I have been extremely lucky in Barcelona: I share a studio space with seven great creatives: it is called Mirlo Studio, we all work on our own projects, but we also assist each other on shared projects. They inspire me a lot! For me they are my new family.

I strongly hope to continue creating patterns and designs, to collab with surfboard and skateboard brands… and to keep on feeling so inspired!