We had the good fortune of connecting with Ravi Zupa and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Ravi, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Over the years, I’ve only integrated my work, art and life more and more. So all of these things are deeply intertwined. In some ways, you could say, I have no balance. For better or worse. My home is a huge studio and I have employees who come to me and we work very hard. I work on art for the 8 hours that they are here and then when they leave I work on art. It works for me though. I love art.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love art. When I look at art, I feel a lot of excitement. I feel moved and exhilarated and I want to conjure that same feeling in others who look at my art. I don’t know if I succeed, I can never really know, but that’s the goal. I look at art from throughout history and from different parts of the world and try to find ways that these cultures and ideas are connected. I’m mostly looking for the universal things that we all share.
I draw and paint and sculpt everything myself. One of the biggest hurtles for me has been the misunderstanding of this fact. People often think I’m cutting art of books or working digitally but I always start with real paper and a pencil.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
To be honest, I wouldn’t be the best person to ask at this point. Other than a few years in San Francisco, I’ve lived in Denver my whole life and I love it here but I’ve become pretty reclusive and the city is a lot different than it used to be, I spent most of my time living in the Capitol Hill and South Broadway neighborhoods but now I’m further out, on my own little art compound.
I love the Denver central Library. I love the mountains. I live near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge which has the craziest birds in Colorado. I love birds.
Great restaurants that are still around and are favorites of the locals are Taco De Mexico on Santa Fe and 7th Ave, New Saigon on Federal and Exposition.
I have a lot of friends that own cool shops around town. People that I have known forever and hang on as the city keeps changing. Mutiny Now is a great bookstore/Coffee shop on South Broadway, that place really describes the old spirit of Denver, particularly South Broadway.
The Mayan Theater on 1st and Broadway is pretty magical. One of those really beautiful, old timey movie theaters where they went all out on the architecture, inside and out.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are countless people I could name here but in some ways the most influential people have been, my mother, Noam Chomsky, and Shepard Fairly. people.
My mother loves art as much as I do. Both as a viewer and a creator. She’s highly educated in art history and she knows how to make art, how to problem solve, how to use her hands. Everyone in my family made art growing up, my father and mother and all my siblings. It was just like eating breakfast for us.
I include Noam Chomsky here just because he’s the more intellectual side of my development. I didn’t go to school so I don’t have a formal connection to academia but I’m more rooted in thought and ideas than anything else. My art is rooted this way too. More than emotions for example. I worked as an animator many years ago and a coworker had a library of speeches and interviews with Noam Chomsky and I spent hundreds of hours listening to him talk. It really had a big impact on how I think.
Most recently, I have met and worked with Shepard Fairey. For the last ten years he’s really been my biggest model and mentor. He’s helped me realize this world where art and small business and life are all integrated.
I also have an incredible team now. Two full time employees and a lot of contractors who fill a variety of rolls. Of all the people I’ve worked with in the past, this group of people is the most good hearted, hard working and fun!
Website: ravizupa.com
Instagram: @raviamarzupa
Image Credits
Kelsey Arneson (studio shots) Morgan Rindengan (exhibition shots)