Silvia Gallart | Underground Map Portraits

Graphic designer and visual artist Silvia Gallart has been working on a series of artworks that innovatively combines the underground map, portraiture, and language. As a huge fan of graphic designers who have created city maps, such as Massimo Vignelli, who designed the New York City subway map; Harry Beck, known for the London Underground map; and Yasuo Otaguro, who worked on the Tokyo Metro map, Silvia has created her own interpretation that also infuses her love for languages. Primarily, she uses English, German, and Spanish, the languages she speaks the most.

Originally from North Spain, for the past twenty years, Silvia has been living and working in Zürich. Her career began in diverse companies, including advertising agencies, graphic studios, and social enterprises. Pop Art and graphic design are her biggest influences, which is reflected in her colourful and playful style. She tells us; “I strive to incorporate fun into all my projects. My curiosity and eclectic nature drive me to explore different directions in my work, rather than sticking to just one path.”  Initially, Silvia worked with both analogue and digital mediums, but due to space limitations, she has transitioned to mostly digital work. However, she still gets to enjoy the physical nature of producing prints, as she experiments with diverse print techniques such as vinyl foil printing and high-quality art prints. Silvia states; “One of my favourite aspects of my work is creating tactile layers with vinyl foil, adding a tangible dimension to my pieces”.

Each work of art in her map series was created from a different approach. For instance, one piece uses a woman’s face that tells a story, but the history is not evident. Therefore, the viewer has to interpret it, which makes the work more appealing and suggestive. Another print features the face of a woman with a Swiss map overlaid on it. A different work is an image of a very old man where all of his wrinkles are formed by Spanish lines and the corresponding words. Silvia explains; “I haven’t lived in Spain for twenty years, so for me, this has a deep meaning. It reflects the passage of time (the wrinkles) that has gone by.”

The series began with a self-portrait, incorporating elements related to her interests such as her favourite things, music, and movies, as well as dislikes. “I enjoyed the process and expanded to create more detailed images, leading to high-quality prints that have been exhibited and sold in Switzerland,” says the designer. Currently, Silvia is experimenting with different types of vinyl foil and documenting the process through videos. She has an upcoming exhibition in September at Gallery 16b, titled Diaspora, which resonates deeply with the themes in her work.

Silvia concludes; “I am looking forward to creating more images following the same concept (metro lines, words) and sharing them with the public”.

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