Raza Uno’s talent goes far beyond making sick apparel graphics for top brands. This skater artist is our next in line for the 15th Anniversary Art Auction.

Erin Dyer: What compelled you to get involved in this art auction?

Raza Uno: Evan Pricco at Juxtapoz talked to me about the auction and the project you guys are doing, and I was really impressed and excited. I wanted to be part of it and sent one of my pieces to try to help.

What was your process for creating the wood graphics on your piece? Do you know the type of wood used for the deck? What tool(s) did you utilize to carve out such a detailed pattern?

I was invited by Luca Ionescu two years ago to collaborate with him on the Refill skateboards project. I sent my artwork and he used the laser etching machine to come up with all the details on the deck. I got an extra copy for myself and decide to donate it to this auction.

I love to work on wood; I’ve been doing it on and off. But next to paper is the second favorite medium to work on.

Any particular meaning for you behind this piece?

I've been always intrigued by religious art, to me the relationship between an image/figure and the people that worship them is really interesting. There's always a great story behind all of that, and the content is always amazing. This piece came from some totems images I was looking at, I wanted to do my own version of it and that's what happen.

Do you hope people see skate art through evolved eyes with your wood-on-wood detailing?

Skate is always been part of my life. I grew up on it and that was my way to connect to design and art.

The way we etched this board was a way to give my art a 3-D value, almost like a sculpture. I’ve done boards before and they’ve always been printed or painted, obviously because they have need to be functional. This time it was treated as an art piece and I think that was the difference. It also allowed me to see my work executed in a different way than I'm used to—and I was really happy with the final piece.
 

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