Hi, I’m Ari

THE SHORT
Ari is a fine artist and muralist. As the founder of Viscera, a USA-made brand in shop she create products for intentional living. She helps small businesses grow using creative and marketing at Viscera Studio. Additionally, she grows capacity as the individual and organization level as a speaker, teacher, and executive director of the Oakland Indie Alliance.

Ari is driven by a deep passion for creatives and her community. Founder of the brand and brick and mortar shop, Viscera, Ari strives to enrich Oakland’s entrepreneurial landscape by supporting makers, designers, and artists. She carefully sources well-made, ethical products that help consumers connect with the process and stories behind the products they purchase. Founded in 2014, Viscera has been featured in the SF Chronicle, Racked, 7x7, Oakland magazine, and more.

Ari works to bridge the worlds of city planning, art, and business through her design and consulting business, Viscera Studio. Her studio helps start-ups and growing businesses to overcome the challenges of limited access to resources and capital, by generating scrappy and creative solutions. To this end, Ari also serves as a board member for the Oakland Indie Alliance, a nonprofit organization that helps local, independent businesses thrive in Oakland. 

Ari’s passion for creativity started with her passion for art. When she isn’t running her business or studio, she is an artist creating murals across the Bay, and most recently was commissioned by the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation to paint one of their iconic hearts of SF. 

 

Resume

 

CV

 

artist statement

My art is an attempt to create the air of familiarity, like a bout of deja vu, without the explicit content/subject matter that produces recognizability in art works. I attempt to create a feeling of smallness by creating abstracted works, free of scale. While some may look at a painting and see a topography, another may see the zoomed in crevices of a finger print. Moving seamlessly between the massive and the granular, my work distorts the familiar while maintaining a feeling of ease and calm.

Much of my inspiration comes from our environments, natural or man-made, and the the shared experience of finding awe in both the mundane and majestic. Peering into the micro world produced in a single tide pool feels surprisingly similar to looking at the stars in the sky. In both situations you realize the scale at which your experience exists is limited—paradoxically, there is so much more and somehow so much less to see all at once.

 

Selected Press

 
 

full Press List

October 2021 “Meet Ari Takata-Vasquez Artist, Designer, & Business Owner”
May 2021 “A New Oakland Based Incubator Helps Small Businesses Step Up Their Game” - The Oaklandside
November 2020 'Dial back' or 'emergency brake?' New lockdowns and the U.S. economy’- Reuters
November 2020 “Restaurant parklets are expensive, so Bay Area architects, artists have been designing them for free” - SF Chronicle
August 2020 “ ‘Hanging On’ – Almost 25% of Small Businesses Hit Hard by Pandemic Fear Closure”- Times of San Diego
July 2020- “Oakland City Council Approves Cap On Charges For Food Deliveries”- CBS SF Bay Area
July 2020- “ U.S. small businesses face mass closures without more pandemic aid”- Reuters
April 2020- Interview Oakland Indie Alliance - KTVU
April 2020-”Zoom meetings show colleagues the real you. Yes, that's a good thing”- SF Chroncle
March 2020 - “SF Sells Heart for Record $3 Million to Fund Public Health 'Program” - Broke Ass Stuart
March 2020 - "Your Call”- What Resources Are Available for Small businesses Hit by COVID-19 - KALW
March 2020 - East Bay restaurants strain under weight of COVID-19 -Berkeleyside
February 2020- “Zuckerberg San Francisco General's heartfelt fundraiser” - SF Chronicle
December 2019 34 Iconic San Francisco Heart Sculpture Artworks Unveiled - SF Station
November 2019 Tis the Season: Tell us where to Shop Locally for the Holidays - KQED
September 2019 Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center Workshops Benefit Local Retailers - Richmond Standard
September 2019 Fringe Elements - Diablo Magazine
August 2019 “Oakland Eats: Artichoke Basille’s arrives in Temescal, with pan-Asian, Spanish eateries on the way”- Yahoo News
July 2019 The East Bay’s 3D printed Goods - Diablo Magazine
December 2018 The Ultimate Gift Guide- Diablo Magazine
November 2018 The Hella East Bay Guide - 7x7
October 2018 Wear Your Values on Your Sleeve - USF Magazine
April 2018 Viscera is the Future Fashion, Stocking Minimal and Ethical Wares - Almanac of Style
March 2018 Oakland Magazine Cover Anything Goes - Oakland Magazine
January 2018 - Retail in Oakland: A Conversation with Viscera’s Founder Ari Takata-Vasquez - PlaceMakes
December 2017 VSCO Art As Activism
November 2017 V by Viscera Natural Beauty Shop Pops up in Old Oakland - Hoodline
September 2017 A Modern Guide to Uptown Oakland - 7x7
June 2017 Next Stop: Oakland - The National Magazine
March 2017 5 East Bay Boutiques Bringing the Spring Fashion Vibes - SF Station
October 2016 This store Has the Absolutely Best Way of Welcoming Pit Bulls - Barkpost
December 2016 Viscera Boutique Celebrates 2nd Anniversary with Print Magazine - Hoodline
November 2016 A Visitor’s Guide to Oakland’s Coolest Shopping Neighborhoods - Racked
November 2016 Where to find Arts, drinks, and Eats in Uptown Oakland - Thrillist
September 2016 Viscera Studio Brings Minimalistic Line to Downtown Oakland - San Francisco Chronicle
September 2016 Get Stylish - Oakland Magazine
July 2016 Shop Minimalist Style at These Chic Oakland Stores - 7x7
April 2016 Oakland makers Members Mix- Oakland Magazine
September 2015 - A Boutique for Every Bestie or Beaux - East Bay Express

full Press List