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INTERVIEW WITH BLANCA AKA PEPITA GLÜCK
When we first saw Pepita Glück’s painting of a hand grasping a döner kebab we knew that we had to have her work in the shop. We claim to represent local Berlin artists and there’s so much about Pepita Gluck’s work that screams Berlin. She's not even from Berlin - it doesn't get more Berlin than that ;)
“In the end I get inspiration from everywhere – it doesn’t matter whether it’s people or food.”
There’s something really joyous, totally unpretentious and utterly unpremeditated about Pepita Glück’s work – it’s a riot of colour and you can clearly see that she has a lot of fun painting.
“I enjoy it and treat it like a game.”
She paints what she loves, people who intrigue her and versions of things that she wants but can’t have.
“Over the lockdown period I was spending less time with people and more time with objects. I started to paint things that were specific to my experience in Berlin – a Club Mate, the newspaper ‘The Art of the Working Class’, döner kebabs, Lidl shopping bags and of course things that I missed from Spain – the beer Cruzcampo. I have a painting of sardines because I miss Spanish tapas – why isn’t there a good pincho bar in Berlin?”
A kaleidoscopic range of famous characters that capture her interest pop up in her paintings: Prince, Sonia Delauney, Salvador Dali, Dolly Parton, Princess Diana, Freddie Mercury, David Lynch and even Billie Eilish.
“I initially started painting people like David Attenborough – people who work with animals. I felt an affinity to them because I really enjoy the company of animals. I also like people who have a specific aesthetic – Dali for example was a painting. He was very striking. He was a work of art himself.”
She includes a quotation by Dali under her portrait of him: “The reasons some portraits don’t look true to life is that some people make no effort to resemble their pictures.” This rebellious sense of humour runs through her work.
“I didn’t have a great experience at school – my art teacher recommended that I did something else. My paintings don’t look real. For that you have photography. I like it when it looks rough. I don’t like it when it looks too perfect. I also think I have a problem with authority.”
And it’s not just pop culture that inspires her but also film culture – especially the films of Wes Anderson.
I love the aesthetic of Wes Anderson’s films – it’s very easy to represent a movie by Wes Anderson. I especially love the patterns, particularly in the film The Darjeeling Limited.”
You can clearly see this interest in pattern and flat space in many of her paintings. There’s a totally democratic treatment of all the surfaces in the paintings whether they’re in the foreground or the background. She has a similarly democratic approach to choosing the surfaces that she paints on.
“I often paint on wood that I find on the street. It’s a pity to throw it away. Although it’s not so practical because some of the pieces are very heavy. But I don’t like throwing things away. I said I would fill just one wall with paintings…still there isn’t enough space – I’d like a bigger apartment.”
Well amen to that!
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