Juan Manuel Gómez on His Pizarro Collaboration- How Art Intersects with Denim
Portuguese laundry Pizarro sees denim as an art form, and the company has sought to bring art into its facilities through its Art Gallery initiative.
Explaining the concept on Instagram, Pizarro wrote, “At PZR Art Gallery, garments are transformed, going far beyond their initial purpose. Art manifests itself through denim and takes on new forms. It becomes authentic pieces, crafted by the hands of artists who paint the future every day.”
Most recently, Pizarro invited Juan Manuel Gómez, artist and design leader at dye firm Officina+39, to make his mark on its laundry in honor of its 40th anniversary. For this project, Juan created his first mural, a wall art piece in multiple shades of blue. He also used denim garments as a canvas for artistic expression.
Juan chatted with Carved in Blue about the partnership with Pizarro and how denim inspires his art.
Carved in Blue: How did this collaboration with Pizarro come about?
Juan: I had the opportunity to meet Pizarro family at different editions of Kingpins Amsterdam, and I have always admired their work and passion for the world of laundry processes. They are a great reference for everyone in the history of how laundry processes were born, especially in terms of innovation and sustainability.
They were familiar with some of my work as an artist using denim in Amsterdam for Candiani and Denham. From there, there was always a mutual interest in creating something that combined art and washing processes. Two years ago, I got in touch with Margarida Pizarro, a denim lover who is responsible for all the creative aspects at Pizarro and a fundamental pillar for special projects like the PZR Art Gallery. Finally, we managed to find the right moment and place in September 2023, the year Pizarro celebrated its 40th anniversary. I feel that the most important thing was finally getting to know Margarida, as we had never been able to meet before and experience the passion of the entire Pizarro family. It was also a pleasant surprise to find Dio Kurazawa (@thebearsscouts), whom I hadn’t seen in many years, accompanying the entire process behind the video and concept as a CSR ambassador for Pizarro.
It has been a unique and creative experience for everyone involved in this project.
Carved in Blue: What inspires you about denim as a canvas for art?
Juan: I started seeing the laundry and its processes as a pictorial matter, where I began experimenting with denim as a medium and utilizing various laundry techniques. The inspiration and passion arose from seeing denim as a medium that receives, wears and is not just any canvas. The denim I have observed for years, worn by people from different cultures and lifestyles, now becomes a surface for telling stories from a pictorial perspective, changing the way we look at it. It motivates me to know that through the collaboration between the denim and art industries and communities, we can create synergies that reach diverse audiences beyond those who are solely part of the denim community.
Carved in Blue: What were you hoping to communicate through the murals and garments you designed and executed for Pizarro?
Juan: There is a constant act of repetition as automatic drawing or pictorial act in the processes of the textile industry; taking this as a visual reference, the artworks, the mural and the collection are produced as if they were cloth or a garment, also considering that error and learning by repetition are constant factors in the textile industry.
With this interdisciplinary project, I want to showcase the full potential of denim, and in particular laundry, as a connecting thread and creative medium. Being invited as one of the artists by PZR is an honor, especially because it is a place filled with stories and incredible spaces to intervene. Both Pizarro and I strongly believe in the power of synergy between art, denim and laundry.