Sandro Kopp, one of our favorite artists, was born in 1978 in Heidelberg, Germany, of New Zealand and German descent. He started drawing and painting proficiently at a very young age and his art was exhibited from early childhood on. He had his first solo exhibition when he was seven years old, his second when he was fifteen. Sandro Kopp grew up in Germany and then emigrated to New Zealand– his mother’s homeland- in 2000. The following three years were spent studying, painting and exhibiting in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, where he lived in the creative collective The Factory.
Having left New Zealand in 2005, the next years where spent nomadically roaming around between Italy, New York, France and the UK. Since 2009 Sandra Kopp has been based in the Highlands of Scotland. In recent years he has been working primarily on portraits painted from Skype conversations.
Here are his As to our Qs!
Enjoy!
When are you happiest?
Waking after a long sleep having done a good painting the night before.
What motivates you?
Caffeine.
Which city or cities are centers of creativity and inspiration for you?
New York. Istanbul. Rome. Wellington. Beijing. Berlin… Inspiration and creativity can be found anywhere really.
For you, what does Istanbul stand for?
A real meeting of east and west, of ancient and new.
What do you think about the city (cities) you live in?
I only live in a tiny town in the Highlands of Scotland. It is a very sane, benevolent place.
What’s your current source of inspiration?
People.
Your most memorable journey?
Walking to school by myself for the first time when I was 6.
Your favorite place to visit to get ideas?
The forest.
Your most cherished possession?
My health.
Who or what inspired you to become a painter?
I never really considered any other option. This has been my choice for as long as I can remember.
Key moment in your life?
My first life-drawing session when I was 16.
Favorite recent discovery?
Chia seeds.
Favorite artist of all times?
Impossible to answer… My favorite artists today at this moment are Gericault and Ryan McGinley.
How will you be remembered?
As tall.
What can’t you live without?
My Sweetheart.
What’s on repeat on your iPod?
Somebody that I used to know, by Gotye.
Names of people whom you think revolutionized the art world?
I’m sure there are countless pioneers I don’t and should know more about, but the one that pops in to my head now who recently rocked my world was David Hockney when he said: “The camera sees geometrically, but we (humans) see psychologically.”
What is the trait you most deplore about yourself?
Bossiness.