Bored Panda reached out to Rob Strati, an artist who creates unique and sentimental works of art by mending broken porcelain plates. Strati talked about his inspiration, creative process, and his art exhibitions in an exclusive interview with us.
"In terms of being inspired, I will generally find a piece of china that has been damaged or is unusable and from the fragments piece together a composition from which I can begin to draw what my imagination sees in the missing space, often using motifs from the original plate," Rob explained. "This is both grounding in the history of the original pattern, but also very liberating in being able to free the world of the plate and explore new possibilities."
When asked about how he finds the porcelain pieces, the artist said, "Sometimes people give me pieces that they have broken, and I also look for things online that might be damaged or have some flaws."
"It can take around 2 months to finish one piece. It is a long process of different phases of drawing, mounting the paper and fragments, getting the work photographed, and having the final shadow box frame built. A lot of it is the drawing because I like to take breaks and come back to the piece with fresh eyes and see things in new ways," Strati added when asked about the time it takes to finish a piece.
Rob's art pieces evoke a sense of freedom and continuation of stories. "People talk about the work feeling free, like characters and the story that were contained in the original plate are set free and the story can continue. People often say they have never seen anything like it before, and I think that is because the process is pretty involved and unconventional. People also sometimes think it is an abstract work when they are approaching it, but when they get close, they recognize the plates," he said.
Strati has already exhibited his work at The Other Art Fair in Brooklyn last year, where it received a positive reception, and he is planning on exhibiting it at the FOCUS art fair in NYC this year. "I am open to other exhibition opportunities and to work with people who love the pieces," he added.
Although Rob has been doing art for as long as he can remember, he feels that his Fragmented project is different from his other works. "I think because it started out as a simple gesture of love for my wife and mother-in-law, it has a power all its own," he said.
The artist has sold many of his pieces through Instagram and has also started his own online gallery called Porcelain Projects. "I am really fascinated by what is possible as an individual artist using technology to build a community of supporters and to really be able to connect with them in ways that are meaningful on so many levels - I think things are opening up more and more in some incredible ways," he said.
