Artist Spotlight

Fratz & Gio

F&G, or Fratz & Gio, work together to create their masterpieces by bouncing ideas off each other in a collaborative creative process. Before getting together as artistic partners, Gio studied fashion but did not practice visual fine arts in the same way he currently does. He recruited Fratz to participate in artistic creation with him because of Fratz’s talents in conceptualizing and realizing artworks. 

With the help of Fratz as a designer and illustrator–and later art director–Gio started an apparel company called LcWaikiki. “The name of the brand came from Honolulu in Hawaii: the company had as a mascot a little monkey. I was essentially in charge of the creation, the development and the fabrication.”

Creative Processes

The creative process of F&G involves many steps, due to the amount of materials they use in their artworks and the heavy-duty nature of working with these materials. F&G choose the subjects of their sculptures based on cultural symbols, artists and characters who represent an interesting commentary on the art world. “Pitchou,” one of their most popular mascots, was designed by Fratz and represents a “guardian of the art world,” according to Gio: “This Pitchou is a very cute dog, and he has a gun because he represents the guardian of the art world : his gun is charged with flowers and hearts.” This character saw inspiration in LcWaikiki, as the LcWaikiki mascot was a monkey, and they were “friends.”
The process starts out with sketches, and once sufficient materials are gathered, an external sculptor creates a prototype. Then, they create molds for the sculpture and properly mold the prototype, followed by sanding and detailed painting that makes the sculpture its own unique creation.
    With their sculpture called “Love,” they have a similar process, but since this sculpture involves metal they turn to professionals who are trained in cutting and folding metal, after which they weld it and then F&G paint it with special paint. They usually turn to Fratz’s painting skills to finish off each sculpture.

F&G have a goal of spreading positive messages through their art. According to Gio, “I want to transmit a universal and intemporal message of hope, peace and love. What I am really interested in is giving a message of joy.”

Explore more of F&G’s art collection at Eden Gallery online, or visit your nearest gallery today.