Q&A: Artist Julia Schimautz on Her K2 Skis Collab

Tell us about your studio space. Where are you right now?

We’re based in Berlin. We’ve got this beautiful big shopping window, so you can see the cars going past and people walking by. We’ve been here for two years now. Before, I was working from my apartment, which was a mess. It’s so nice to be able to leave the house, commute and be around people, and arrive at this space. I love our super crazy, colorful wall.

Can you describe the process of risograph printing? And what do you like about the medium?

Risograph is originally from Japan. The machine looks like this boring, super common photocopy printer. It was first used in churches, schools, and hospitals, where they wanted to have a big quantity super cheaply printed. Then, I think, in the ‘70s, the industry repurposed the use of the riso printer by printing scenes and posters super cheap and fast. They also decided to create custom colors. Each color comes in a massive drum. You print one color after the other, similar to screen printing. But instead of making screens, the printer does it all.

Because I’m a graphic designer, I love working with a computer—as opposed to lino printing and hand-crafted art. And I really love the mix between being able to work on my computer and stepping away and having this machine recreate my art. By having it out of your control, it looks different and surprises come out of it. But I feel like that’s the beauty of it.

Source: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/artist-julia-schimautz-k2-skis-collab