Through Symbols, Ravi Zupa's Art Ignites Viewers' Brains
Story and Photos by Giles Clasen
When you see something like a propaganda-style logo next to a drawing of a bird, your brain lights up different places,” Zupa said. “That’s kind of the intention.”
Artist Ravi Zupa has joined forces with the Denver VOICE to create a powerful, limited-edition screenprint poster — crafted to fuel the organization’s mission of independent journalism and empowering low-barrier employment opportunities.
In support of Denver VOICE, Ravi Zupa created a powerful, limited-edition screenprint poster — crafted to fuel the organization’s mission of independent journalism and empowering low-barrier employment opportunities.
Zupa, whose bold and thought-provoking work has been celebrated nationally for 20 years, generously donated this exclusive piece. With themes of power, labor, and cultural memory woven into every detail, this collaboration is more than just art—it’s a statement.
“I think starting very early, I just always wanted anything that I do to have a sort of positive something to it,” Zupa said.
“Even when I was really young, I wouldn’t draw pictures of morally ugly things — I always wanted some goodness to be part of the mix.”
Zupa’s work is instantly recognizable for its stylistic homages and detailed linework. From whimsy to stoicism, Zupa’s work utilizes intricate ink cats, tattoo-inspired tigers, and revolutionary birds. His pieces speak from many voices but always sound like Zupa.
“The truth is I don’t really have a style that’s my own,” he admitted. “Everything I do, I just bite off other styles. I love different stuff.”
Zupa has spent hours studying and exploring art from different cultures and eras. He has used that vocabulary to evoke images that encourage hope, whimsy, lamentations, or transformation — sometimes all at once.
According to Zupa, he aims to channel the same emotional intensity he feels when encountering great art into every piece he creates.
“It’s like the sound of rain — something physical happens in my body. I want to pass that on,” Zupa said.
Zupa draws from a rich tapestry of eras and cultures, such as 1970s comic books, Soviet propaganda, ancient Indian and Christian iconography, and traditional Japanese prints.
Zupa has hustled. From designing low-cost posters during the Great Recession to his success with the “Drunk Cats” series to sculpting typewriters into firearms in his “Mightier Than Series.”
For Zupa, these aren’t empty aesthetic choices. Each line ofhis work is intended to evoke thoughtful discourse.
“When you see something like a propaganda-style logo next to a drawing of a bird, your brain lights up different places — politics, nature — and then some kind of dialogue happens,” he explained. “That’s kind of the intention, to light up parts of people’s brains and see what happens.”
His logo echoes revolutionary and communist imagery without being an exact reference. Zupa appreciates that his logo and art may lead one to draw conclusions, but he hopes his cultural references draw people to explore new ideas and participate in important dialogue.
That semiotic play of symbols and imagery that evoke but do not define is central to Zupa’s use of visual language.
“Everything, everywhere, every cultural article, every piece, little particle of culture is the result of mixing everything. That is multiculturalism, and there’s something great about it,” Zupa said.
Zupa dedicated himself to art as a profession in 2006, following his older brother’s death. Before his brother’s death, Zupa had worked as a substitute teacher. It was a job that offered him security and more income than he had ever earned. But the loss changed the direction of his life.
“I just started sprinting toward this,” Zupa said. “I kind of grew up in poverty and it was just really very, very uncomfortable. And I just didn’t want that anymore. I was just kind of shaking, shaking, like, snap out of it. All I could think was: do something or don’t. I felt I had to do something.”
Since then, Zupa has hustled. From designing lowcost posters during the Great Recession to his massive viral success with the “Drunk Cats” series to sculpting typewriters into firearms in his “Mightier Than Series” purchased by celebrities, Zupa’s career has grown steadily — but never explosively.
Ravi Zupa and his assistant Amara Gardner tear apart a typewriter to create a gun-shaped form for Zupa’s “Mightier Than” series of sculptures.
“Shepard Fairey definitely helped me, for sure,” Zupa said of the renowned street artist who included him in a gallery show. “But honestly, it’s all just been a very gradual slog. No one moment changed everything.”
Zupa also credits an early British gallerist, Steve Lazarides — famous for launching Banksy’s career — for giving him shows in Newcastle and London that helped establish his international reputation. But again, there was no overnight success. Just steady work.
Social media, particularly Instagram (where he has more than 200,000 followers), has been far more powerful than any gallery.
“It’s probably been the biggest tool for getting me in front of people,” Zupa said.
Zupa’s house and studio are littered with stacks of prints and posters of his work that his assistants market and ship to his customers. Most of his art is designed to be affordable and available to the widest possible audience.
Still, Zupa said he’s resisted the pull to create only what sells. When a poster takes off — like his viral “Do Not Go Gently” Dylan Thomas print featuring a cat, he doesn’t necessarily try to replicate its success.
To receive a limited-edition print designed by Ravi Zupa for the Denver VOICE, visit https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/denvervoice and make a recurring donation of $5 a month, or one-time donation of $55.