#022 ☼ Analogue Saturation: Pia Riverola
#022 ☼ Analogue Saturation: Pia Riverola
Brazilian Forest Home • Reverse Design Philosophy • Lake Como Ferraris
ISSUE 022
French 75
With tasting notes of colourful Mexico, a forest house in Brazil, the hottest classic sofas on the market, Ferrari Testarossa’s, an unexpected design philosophy, British backyard pools and keeping your thoughts interesting to make great art.
The good life beckons once more!
CURATE WITH US
Our question this week is:
What is your favourite way to be kind for free?
Let us know in the comments 💭
Further down in this issue, we’ll explore definitions of success discussed last week!
Hot Hyperlinks
☼ MUJI’s charming design philosophy aims for you to think “This will do” instead of “I really want or need this”
☼ The Maximus chair gets a makeover, transforming the all-wooden seat into springy lushness with a boisterous character. Meet the new chair: Max
☼ The Lake Como lot with 5 black Ferrari Testarossa’s (’86-’97) on sale as part of RM Sotheby’s exclusive Villa Erba auction
☼ A stunning, symmetrical home ensconced in the Brazilian forest that mimics its landscape
☼ Absolut Vodka has produced more than 2000 ads over 25 years, all in the same format. Here’s the story of its success, with help along the way from Andy Warhol
☼ The unexpected geometric pool nestled in the backyard of a British home in Surrey to overlook the surrounding nature
☼ Wolfgang Tillmans on why your art is only as interesting as your thoughts are
☼ From the Togo to the Camaleonda, discover the hottest design classics in Pamona’s trending sofa category
☼ The LOEWE x Howl’s Moving Castle larger than life 3D animation on display in London features beloved characters and some of the collection’s intensely crafted bags
SUMMER-ENHANCING PEOPLE
Analogue Saturation: Pia Riverola
“I always wanted to be a flight attendant when I was little. I can see now that I wanted to escape from family issues I experienced when I was young. At the time I didn’t know. I was just obsessed with traveling.”
Pia Riverola is a photographer from Barcelona based between LA and Mexico City. While her grandfather gave her a Minolta when she was younger, she started taking film seriously upon studying it in her twenties.
Now, she is known for her distinctly romantic, intimate and dream-like photographs saturated in alluring hues that have taken her all around the world, encompassing a range of genres like travel, architecture, fashion and documentary.
Following the launch of her debut monograph Flechazo, we take a deep dive into the winding, wonderful world of Pia Riverola.
Highlights
Poolsuite Picks: Antarctica, the 77 year old woman who has dedicated her life to cutting and selling flowers since childhood, Costa Brava, Bangkok, Guadalajara
On her debut monograph Flechazo, translating to “love at first sight”: “Every photo reflects a mood I was in, what something made me feel or what I was experiencing. It’s very nostalgic. There are photos from ten years ago and they capture a moment in my life when I was discovering something or discovering myself”
EVENT: Attend the show and book launch of Flechazo in Mexico City on Feb 11th hosted by FWB and Arkive. More details here
Why she thinks Japan is “perfect for the photographer” due to its juxtaposed “tidy perfection and craziness”, as well as the “heritage, culture and care for the tradition”
JUSTO A TIEMPO: A collection of work by Pia Riverola and her partner John Reagan captured during 2021 and 2022 as Pia’s US visa expired, forcing them to leave their home in LA as she simultaneously discovered she was pregnant. They continued to travel and take on purely photo-based work before returning to her family in Barcelona to give birth. The show is “a recap of those months and feelings of being homesick, exasperation but still so remembering our luck, trying to find a sense of home away from home and thrilled about the future and things to come”
Pia’s go-to photo equipment and travel tips: “All my cameras, I buy from Japan on eBay. I use film—it’s Kodak Portra—and I feel like it’s best to shoot medium format in case you want to blow up the photos larger later. I didn’t buy a digital camera until about three years ago. I use a Sony Alpha as a digital camera now, and when I bought it, I was like, what are all these buttons? With film, the theory is the same, but there aren’t so many options. It was like learning a computer or a new phone.”
On solo travel: “I feel that it's very important for my process to go alone and experience a place for myself. Of course, sometimes it can be lonely. But I also try to disconnect from the travel part and really just connect with myself. I don't pity myself. It's lonely, but I'm also with myself and I'm out there meeting so many new faces and exploring exciting things that I don't think about it too much. It's more of a tired thing than a lonely thing for me.”
On posting on Instagram: “At some point, I had to stop and think about how big of a role Instagram played in my life as an artist. I think we're all a little too interested in the likes, followers, and which images get the most responses, instead of how we feel about the work. So I've tried to find the balance in posting what makes other people happy versus what makes myself happy. Now I post things that I love that maybe my followers don't quite understand all the time, but I think it's beneficial to keep introducing new things. It's very fulfilling when you can say that you don't care about what other people want.”
Puerto Escondido by Pia Riverola for Leica x NeueHouse: “People always say I take photos of the most random, normal, quotidian things, but it has a certain magic. And I think, “No, people don’t look enough and don’t pay attention to these things that happen that are beautiful.” That’s what I want to show them. Just that there’s magic in these very normal, day-to-day scenarios that happen in everyday life.”
Pia Riverola shares her 8 Favourite Things with Elle Decor including Bichi wines and a Vidivixi side table
On the best advice to give and receive: “It sounds like a cliche, but to not be afraid of failing. Although that’s something that you learn by yourself slowly, rather than a piece of advice. I remember so many people giving me advice some years ago and I remember it was difficult to understand and listen to others when fear is everywhere. I think determination, vulnerability and perseverance are a great combination”
What a tough relationship with her mother taught her: “You don’t need to travel like crazy to be happy. You can find beauty and happiness in the small things. She is the person who has inspired me the most in that I was motivated to be the opposite of her. I’m trying to enjoy every part of my life, to squeeze so much out of it, and to do so many things. Life, it’s long, but at the same time it’s so short”
COMMUNITY CURATED: THE MEANING OF SUCCESS
Last week, we explored different meanings of success. Check out the comment section for a variety of conceptions, but this definition really resonated:
Owning your time
Having peace of mind
Having the means and the audacity to live life on your terms rather than defaulting to the script
— via Sari
Hop in the comments this week as we discuss your favourite ways to be kind for free.
SUMMER-ENHANCING HOMEWARE
EXHIBIT A: Ti Cups by Sentou • EXHIBIT B: Tubo Bookends by BI-RITE • EXHIBIT C: Hug Sofa by REJO Studio
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🌴 Say hey, or drop leisurely content you’ve discovered in the comments below!
letting people merge in front of me while driving no matter what - it's a good way to remind myself that life isn't that serious, and a way to show kindness and grace to a stranger
Being "kind of" free means to me having the flexibility to work and play at my own pace, being able to work and not work on things and times I want to, so I can enjoy things I love like popping by my fav cocktail bar on a weekday afternoon, or hopping on a plane any random day to visit mom and drink some cava together in Madrid for the day. All without losing the professional aspect that allows my lifestyle to happen in the first place. Life's good.