Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristallina Fischetti
Hi Cristallina, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started off in London. I am British, Italian and started having shows in New York at first. My cousin who works in Hollywood is a sound editor and asked me to visit her for Christmas. She’s also Italian and I hadn’t seen her for years. What better excuse to have good coffee, pasta and panettone! I was missing home, I was living in New York, it was freezing so I said “sure’. As soon as I touched down in Los Angeles it felt like home to me. It was warm, balmy, colourful and I loved it! I was lucky that she introduced me to some important people and a lady who owns a gallery in West Hollywood.
Los Angeles activated my dormant spirituality too but that’s another story…
I went back to New York, back to London and then was invited to show in Los Angeles with that gallery in West Hollywood several times over. I guess you can say, ‘the rest is history’…
…Based between London, Rome and Los Angeles and I think my work truly reflects this. It’s loud, it’s unapologetic, it’s colourful and balmy all at the same time.
I owe it to the kindness of strangers, contacts, my community and my professors (I have a Masters in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts, London) who encouraged and supported my journey.
Self enquiry and self acceptance also equals self love. This is what The Work teaches me everyday.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth road? Haha! No. It has not been a smooth road. It is really important to be tenacious, humble, hardworking, committed and a visionary at the same time. Try not to copy others. Know the worth of your work and the value that you provide for others which is completely unique to any other person. Try not to fall into tokenism and virtue signalling. It’s a trap, a trend and like most trends they don’t last. It is hard when others in the art world do this and it is easy to fall into it. What I am saying is, I have ‘missed opportunities’ because I have integrity and was committed to go the long road rather than the shortcut.
I remember being homeless in LA for 3 months, couch surfing. I have been through a lot of trauma, drive by shooting… but I learn that these have been teachings that have inspired my work (and others). You see, I am not separate from my work though art schools love to teach us otherwise. I see what I do and how I conduct my life now as Abstract Medicine, a term I call which is fully holistic.
My faith in a Higher Power has and continues to support me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an abstract artist ( murals, installations, paintings) with a high interest in the non visible world, philosophy, Jungian psychology, metaphysics, ritual, light, movement and post-humanism.
I guess now I am known as a spiritual teacher. I conduct mediumship, shamanic healing and tarot reading sessions. I am also known as a podcaster. I founded a podcast called HYPE A (across all available platforms including iHeart Radio and Spotify) all about Amplifying Voices in The Arts. I have AMAZING leaders in the arts who come in as guests to talk about the very things that ails us all; cancel culture and all the -isms. They inspire so many listeners to work in the arts and they are my absolute heroes, truly.
My specialisms are; painting, colourfield, drawing, gesture. I am known for creating large vibrant, colourful work but I am also known to connect with people and in different languages. I penetrate deep into the souls of others very easily. My BS radar is pretty lit! haha.
I would say I am most proud of my work being picked up by a museum in Shanghai, China, for having the recognition of my home town, London. It’s a really hard city to crack if you want to be an artist at a high level, for entering secondary market (auction houses), for purchasing my first home in the Cotswolds, England and for my incredibly supportive collectors around the world but in particularly Los Angeles. It’s the city I think that really kickstarted my career if I am honest.
I think what sets me apart is that I can’t be put into a box. I use the box and make art out of it, question it, disregard it.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My mentor Rob Ward a wonderful abstract sculptor and very paternal Yorkshire man, my mentor Juliana España Keller who on one art residency in Andalusia, Spain she said “you are setting up your podcast today”, my sisters from the Medicine Circles, my family who teach me and my partner Tm Gratkowski.
There are countless fans, galleries, collectors and writers of my work to whom I am indebted.
Pricing:
- 8,000
- 18,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cristallinafischetti.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abstract_medicine/
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@AbstractMedicine888
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cristallinafischetti
Image Credits
Images courtesy of Cristallina Fischetti, 2024
