Date

05 October 2023

Mattia Bari: alumnus of the Undergraduate course in Illustration and Animation at IED Milano

From Galleries like Art Central Galleria El Dorado, to luxury fashion stores like doors.nyc to Times Square Billboards. Mattia Bari, known as POPST-ART (The Popstar of Art), is an artist and creative director of innovative and visionary concepts. His new pop character ‘FAKE’ has quickly been taking Manhattan by storm with its irresistibly appeal. FAKE is the mask of masks, it is an ironic and controversial caricature of Pop culture and its protagonists. A deconstruction of our contemporary world dominated by the social media and by the artifices and traps of our Egos.

 

We had the opportunity to speak with Mattia:

How did your career at IED help you achieve your goals?

IED has inevitably developed a theoretical, practical and professional vision of what was a talent that has always been recognized in me. I followed the Undergraduate Illustration and Animation course which completely analyzed the various applications of visual art with multiple skills and interpretations.

What IED lessons do you always carry with you? Do you have any guidelines that you follow when carrying out your work?

Certainly the transversal culture of art, a 360-degree view of our artistic work. Here in Manhattan, where I work, it is a fundamental aspect, you have to train yourself in a broader and more receptive creative mindset towards the world around you. It was by working with pop stars and celebrities that I had a clear vision of the elasticity of American culture on this aspect.

What does it mean for a creative person to live and work in a cosmopolitan and stimulating city like NYC? What is your greatest satisfaction to date?

It means believing in something great, it's important to have a clear focus and push in that direction, the city helps you with its lights and its atmosphere. The greatest satisfaction was achieving success in the Manhattan artistic circuit with my company 'MATTIA BARI USA'. My POP character 'FAKE' is now on display in luxury galleries and fashion concept stores in the heart of the city, collaborating with the world of advertising, entertainment and fashion. Presenting myself to the city as 'POPST-ART', I work with my team to create innovative concepts and POP-events with a new approach to communication and POP culture in Manhattan... but this is just the beginning!

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