aitch is a romanian artist and the world she creates is wonderfully feminine. her work is occasionally confessional and often simultaneously dark and cute. her range goes from drawings and painting to book illustrations, clothes, jewelry, murals and clay work. and those are just some of the mediums she uses.
last but not least, she shares a super cool creative symbiosis with life partner and fellow artist saddo.
i like her so much i just had to introduce her to you, via an interview:
why do you call yourself aitch? is aitch any different than heliana?
aitch is supposed to be h, the sound, h as in heliana. i don’t think aitch is any different than heliana. i just felt it was better if i had a pen name.
what are your favourite themes? what inspires you?
i use my personal life to draw inspiration sometimes. but not necessarily. i don’t do research specifically for eventual pieces, and inspiration can come at any moment, from any source. i mean i don’t plan to spend today checking out some images hoping for a spark, but the material accumulates in time – the books i read, the stuff i see on the internet, during my travels, food, botanical gardens, anything goes.
what is your work ethic?
sometimes, i start working well ahead of time. for instance, i have been working a lot to make sure i have enough pieces for the upcoming shows. when i’m excited, i work a lot and in advance.
it happens that i procrastinate sometimes, if the job feels more like work and less like fun.
you seem to be hugely productive and you use so many different mediums. how so?
i am not always very productive, i have my high or low periods. but every once in a while i like to alternate drawing with making things, be it clothes or clay work or whatever. i just need to make things.
after i graduated, some girls from hamburg invited me to do a show in their black and super shiny gallery. we went over for the opening and didn’t come back: we moved to berlin for the following 2 years. it was a very exciting and productive time. but i like it too that we moved back to bucharest.
do you have a day job or are you a fully independent artist?
i always have several projects and jobs, commissions or just stuff i work on myself. i don’t have a day job, but i do work with ad agencies quite regularly.
how do you work with saddo?
we have always collaborated, it’s quite easy for us to do so. we started working together when i was still a student and we have done it ever since, more or less often.
do you have a secret talent?
the only thing i can think of is what i did once in high school. i focused my thoughts intensely and i “ordered” a cute dog who was far away and couldn’t see me. i asked him to come over. i repeated the order like five times. “chocolate (that was his name), come to me, chocolate, come to me….” and he came!! and he never strayed from his master!! omg or what?! :D
tell me about your upcoming shows.
in april, i will have a solo show called o jardim do bem e do mal (the garden of good and evil) in portugal, in viana do castelo. the gallery objetos misturados contacted me and we settled all the details online. i am going to be there for the opening, on april the 13th.
and in june, we have two shows in canada, together (with saddo). we chose a theme together so that it would fit both of us. thus, each could draw inspiration and still do our own thing.
we are going to be in canada for a month, traveling and being present for the opening of the shows. we planned to take along supplies in case the works are sold out, we can make them again for the other show. we are excited!
do you have an agent?
no.
what are your favourite spots in the world?
i like lisbon a lot. a great spot is the wavy field in the back of the oceanario. or the little botanical garden in belem. i also liked sintra.
i love boesner in berlin, it’s this place for artists supplies.
and i like the copou park, in iasi, the town where i went to high school.
thank you very much, heliana!
find aitch on her website and on facebook (in case you dream of owning an aitch original, find the available works folder). for tees with her drawings, click here.
photo credits: aitch
17 comments
Mircha says:
Jan 16, 2013
Great to see romanian artists with such a style.. Glad to see it! Keep going!
little aesthete says:
Jan 16, 2013
i’m glad you like it. fyi: i will post a saddo interview on friday. enjoy! :)
Tudor says:
Jan 16, 2013
I love her work! I think both of them (saddo included) are on the way to fame! :) They’re very talented!
For sure I’ll follow their way to stardom! :D
Good luck!
little aesthete says:
Jan 16, 2013
i agree: they are great! :)
mayuki says:
Jan 18, 2013
wow! such great art! i’m also an artist..so from my point of view, it is a very interesting and particular style . :)
little aesthete says:
Jan 18, 2013
i’m glad you like her. later today, i will post an interview with saddo, an equally talented artist. enjoy! :)
SADDO - little aesthete's blog says:
Jan 18, 2013
[…] toys and occasionally large size murals. his harmonious collaboration with fellow artist and gf aitch translates to plenty of collaborations and sometimes joint exhibitions (click here and here). if […]
laura says:
Jan 23, 2013
So talented, but so little promoted!
little aesthete says:
Jan 23, 2013
share the post then! everybody must know her :)
Shola says:
Jan 28, 2013
I love these drawings, they are too creepy!! Just my style XD, I love some of the art on some fabric or on my wall!
little aesthete says:
Jan 28, 2013
check the bottom of the post: you can purchase aitch art and make your dream come true :)
SADDO AT BUKRUK STREET ART FESTIVAL - little aesthete's blog says:
Mar 18, 2013
[…] my first trip to asia, a bit of a cultural shock, mixed with an almost 24 hour trip, the fact that aitch wasn’t with me in this trip, lots of traffic and the sudden heat, the realization that the […]
KITRA INTERVIEW - PART TWO - little aesthete's blog says:
Apr 18, 2013
[…] with you, kaws, yayoi kusama. in romania, i like noper, ghica popa, sinboy, saddo, aitch, pisica patrata, matei branea. i like saddo and aitch and i’m also frustrated by them, but […]
KITRA LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE - little aesthete's blog says:
Apr 18, 2013
[…] with you, kaws, yayoi kusama. in romania, i like noper, ghica popa, sinboy, saddo, aitch, pisica patrata, matei branea. i like saddo and aitch and i’m also frustrated by them, but […]
CHECK OUT MY FIRST AITCH PAINTING! - little aesthete's blog says:
Aug 29, 2013
[…] about a week ago, i found out that aitch and saddo are moving abroad. one of the steps of the move is an everything-must-go sale of prints […]
MOOD BOARD NO 12 - little aesthete's blog says:
Dec 11, 2013
[…] first heard about them them back in september when aitch and saddo had a show there. that is why two of the cards below feature the two romanian artists. […]
JUNE 2016 FINDS | little aesthete says:
Oct 3, 2016
[…] of rather macabre illustrations by cool new artists. two of my good friends are featured: aitch and saddo. you must check this out if you’re into great creepy […]