Amber Vittoria

posted by Emily Gosling December 4, 2020

It’s easy to look at Amber Vittoria’s bright, playful forms and think nothing but happy thoughts. Her use of colour seems so easy and natural; her more abstract pieces so jauntily expressive. But there are more serious underpinnings to her images, and a reason that her works largely focus on femininity and the female form.

As Vittoria puts it, her work aims to “dismantle stereotypes set upon women” through her deft way of depicting and distorting their physical traits: features are overly rounded, and the limbs of her subjects are extended to ludicrous proportions.

This goal came about thanks to a number of things that she found creeping into her line of vision: the women in artworks she saw in galleries and museums, in her studies at art school and during her time working in advertising were hard to relate to for the artist. “Moreover, it was difficult to envision myself or look up to too many living female artists, as most world-known artists were men,” she says. “Because of this, I wanted to depict women in a way that I saw myself—more honest and deep than the religious/maternal/sexual depictions I was shown my entire life.”

Now freelancing full time and living in New York City, Vittoria previously worked on her illustration practice in the evenings and weekends outside of full time roles as a designer and art director. Having carried this exhausting-sounding ritual on for a few years, over time she managed to leave her design job and focus on illustration full time. “Living in a tiny apartment with my husband has helped me be flexible in how I work,” she explains. “I aim to keep everything organised in closet bins; each containing brushes, Liquitex paint, Montana spray paint, Prismacolor brush pens and paper.” The other main tool she uses is a printer for her digital and ink pieces.

Her self-initiated work differs from commissioned projects in process—there’s more “rounds of brainstorming, sketching, works in progress, and editing” in the latter, rather than diving straight in to personal work, she says, which “allows for more natural ‘errors’ and surprises to happen.” However, across everything she works on, her core beliefs in using illustration as a tool to champion women and the multifariousness of the female form remain the same. And even in paid work, there’s a sense things get highly personal. “My most recent work tends to always be my favourite, as it is an accurate and recent depiction of my current place and emotional state,” says Vittoria.

It seems her freelance gamble paid off: Vittoria was named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 artists, and now works with clients including Gucci, The New York Times and Instagram. “I love collaborating with brands on artworks that live on a product or packaging, as it lends itself to being a functional item and a piece of art, making the piece itself more accessible,” she says.

She adds that her favourite clients are those who “champion and hire illustrators of all stylistic backgrounds, as illustration is such a powerful narrative and branding tool, while supporting the arts!”