Born in Buenos Aires, 1969
Architect, Art Director, Artist.
I draw as far back as I can remember. Drawing was the first amusement right at my fingertips. As a kid, I used to spend long hours at my parent’s deli, at the popular Urquiza market.
It was a magic spot surrounded by friends, unimaginable things and countless possibilities for guaranteed entertainment. Spending time at that temple of work dawned on me the idea of doing some odd job to splurge in my whims.
My first job was as a “jasmine caretaker”. I would look after my florist friend’s self-made stand. It only took me one afternoon to sell all the flowers while tenderly yelling: “jasmine, ladies!” The payout couldn’t be better: once a week, we went with my “boss” to the newsstand to get my favourite magazine. What a glorious moment! Once the season was over, I changed my “line of business”. It was time for me to unfold all my talent in the food industry: ‘waiter’s assistant ‘at the old Giuzzepin, a classic pizzeria next to the market.
My parents did not enjoy the idea of having their young son working as an employee any longer. That’s how I started to work in the ‘family business’ as the ‘great provolone cheese grater`. The pay was not as good as in previous jobs, but spending time with my parents was priceless. One afternoon during break I made one of my usual drawings, mixed technique: pen on wrapping paper. A laborious work: Urquiza’s landscape, full of details, including a boy selling jasmines.
A whistle distracted me, the whistling lady looked at me, stared at the drawing in detail and said: ‘How nice!, it’s full of things I had never seen before… Would you sell it to me? How much is it? I got rid of that piece of work, and several more afterwards. Today, looking back in time, with the perspective of the years that went by, I can say that those first clients liked my drawings because they allowed them to see things they hadn’t even noticed, things they had never paid attention to.
Today, I strive to catch that same spirit with my work; I struggle to recall details, smells, situations, words, sounds, memories, things that we may fail to observe or just forget, trying never to lose the look of that kid who sold jasmines.
Gustavo Reinoso.