Inhale Through The Nose by Amber Vittoria
8"x10" ($24) | 11"x14" ($60) | 16"x20" ($240) | 24"x30" ($1200)
This grounded gal has authenticity on lock. She’s relatable but one-of-a-kind. She’s laid-back, colorful, complex, and uncategorizable. She’s going for it and unafraid of failure. We’re not sure if we’re talking about today’s new edition or the artist behind it, but one thing’s for sure: we’re big fans of both.
Amber Vittoria describes Inhale Through The Nose as “a personal portrait of the artist attempting yoga in her apartment”, which gets to the meat of what we love so much about this artist and her work. Vittoria’s wry sense of humor and down-to-earth ethos find the perfect partner in her eccentric shapes and exciting color combos. Inhale Through The Nose is not self-serious in the slightest, but it vibrates of Vittoria’s serious talent at the same time. This subject’s (and the artist’s) namaste nonchalance is aspirational, attractive and empowering. We have half a heart to take a crack at crow pose.
Inhale Through The Nose serves casual yogi vibes in a Southwestern-y color palette that feels appealingly organic and of-the-moment. Vittoria uses carefully-placed geometric shapes in subtly different shades to create a sense of depth and space that balance the frame without distracting from the rounded female form at center. A slice of sky blue at top suggests a window, and a swath of green calls to mind a cactus—clever elements that cool down the image and provide some context for our pattern-clad star. The pattern on the figure’s “outfit” is an interesting touch itself, clashing cheekily with its surroundings while echoing the expressive quality of her eyebrows and the gestural lines defining her face and foot. (Or is that a hand? The confusion’s half the fun.)
Vittoria defines her starring female forms with playfully disorienting, curved, elongated limbs, abstracted features, and matter-of-fact facial expressions. These representations subvert the traditional idea of the female form and womanhood as it’s been represented through most of art history. Dress Like A Woman is another great example—in this case, her subject sports a fabulous pair of fuzzy legs. These are women through a woman’s lens, male gaze begone. The bright, bold colors Vittoria gravitates toward convey a sense of pride and well-being. We’re looking at strong, celebratory female figures fully in their power.
Our subject in Inhale Through The Nose is cool, confident and carefree. She’s not scared to admit she can’t touch her toes—there’s no shame in a work-in-progress. In fact, this edition is evidence that there’s a whole lot of inspiration and beauty to be found in practice and imperfection. The women in Vittoria’s illustrations eschew conventional perfection in place of much more intriguing and genuine end. In both Inhale Through The Nose and her debut edition, Dress Like A Woman, Vittoria embraces what might be overlooked as an “awkward moment” and extracts grace and joy.
It’s no surprise Vittoria’s vision has piqued a lot of interest. Some recent things this New Yorker’s been up to: she contributed art to this poignant New York Times piece about women and power in the workplace. Gucci commissioned her to create an artistic interpretation of their fragrance, Gucci Acqua Di Fiori. Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine chatted her up in this video (Vittoria’s also made a number of editorial illustrations to accompany Man Repeller pieces). She launched a collection with CB2 and Framebridge. And that’s but a taste of what Vittoria's got going on. Follow her Insta for updates, and of course for an eyeful of her day-making artwork.
Vittoria’s work is certifiably fun, refreshing and fearless, which is just the sort of thing we want to get a look at as we head out into the world. Collect some for yourself and you’ll see what we mean.
With art for everyone,
Jen Bekman + Team 20x200
