E
ntering into Lucas Riso’s apartment / studio is like being in a fragrant apothecary’s shop, with a touch of mystery and magic. Dried flowers, chilli peppers, palm leaves, herbs and other flora hang from the ceiling in various states of drying, shelves are filled with bunches of flowers, candles, a basket of sage, while wreaths made of twisting branches and leaves line the walls along with the artist’s delicate embroideries showing images of the third eye, mushrooms or flowers, all of which are framed with natural materials such as straw or herbs. You get the sense that Riso loves to be making something and that he could find a small branch or leaf and transform it into something special, and that is the reality. “I always love to be doing something with my hands,” says the Argentinian-born artist. “It is therapeutic, medicinal for me.”
As we enjoy a cup of fennel and cranberry tea and a glass of mint water filled with bright pink bougainvillaea flowers, Riso talks about working as a florist in Buenos Aires, Argentina for 20-years, after studying fine art for 2 years. Ahead of his time, Riso would transform the shop’s vitrine into a wild arrangement of flowers, sculptural and contemporary installations that conveyed that he was a natural creative and that flowers were his medium. He was always inspired by his grandmother, who he referred to as the “bruja de familia” or the family witch, who would make tea infusions with plants and herbs that she cultivated in the house. Her influence would connect with him years later as well, when he moved to Mallorca.
