Los Angeles-based artist Amber Vittoria has released a new collection of lovingly crafted abstract, pixelated artworks. Titled Vibes, it features intriguingly imperfect characters that tap into what it means to be human.
Amber Vittoria’s artwork is instantly recognisable by her bold use of shape and colour. Her style and creative approach have proved massively popular, with Amber amassing 186 thousand followers on Instagram alone. But in her new collection, Vibes, she takes her work in a slightly different direction.
Looking like a technicolour reimagining of Space Invaders sprites or Tamagotchi pets, Vibes features 300 quirky characters that act as a “vibrant ode” to the multifaceted nature of human emotion. Representing a “harmonious blend” of her earlier figurative work and her bold, geometric pieces ‘Vibes’ weaves together themes of beauty, emotion and nostalgia.
Speaking to Creative Boom, Amber reveals that Vibes was not originally intended to be a collection of digital artwork. “My initial idea was to create abstract vinyl toy collectables, each being a different ‘Vibe’,” she explains. “Sadly, that is a bit out of my budget, so I began to make them digitally!”
It’s easy to see how the Vibes collection would have fit neatly into the collectable toy market. Each one has its own distinct look, unified by a pair of eyes that succinctly communicates a certain feeling to be interpreted by the viewer. “Vibes is a celebration of emotion, of connecting with ourselves, of tapping into who we are in this very moment,” Amber adds.
When it came to making the Vibes series, a lot of people made the easy mistake that they had been generated from code. However, Amber hastens to point out that each one was created digitally and by hand, which leads to some interesting quirks. “I wanted there to be slight blemishes and a touch of imperfection about them, to more accurately represent being human,” Amber reveals.
Long-time fans of Amber’s work will notice trace elements of her previous art in the Vibes collection. However, it also represents her blending together and shaking up both her abstract and figurative approaches. “I haven’t done representational work in a while, so it was a nice revisiting after a bit of a break,” she says.
And while Amber says that Vibes does not contain anything too “out of the realm” from how she usually works, putting the series together wasn’t without its highlights. “It was nice to have an element of overt repetition for this collection.”
Projects rarely run completely smoothly, though, and Vibes is no exception. “The biggest challenge will be the drop itself – making sure it goes as smooth as possible,” she explains. “But for drops, I usually try to remind myself that not everything will be perfect, and that is okay.”
Are you vibing with the Vibes collection? Want to have one for yourself? Head on over to Amber’s OpenSea page to pick one up of your very own.
