4 Kite Artists You Want to Watch - Part 1
1. Francesco Ponti
Francesco Ponti is a 6 times Italian snow kite champion and 7 times Italian kite buggy champion, snow kite instructor since 1999 and kitesurf instructor since 2001 in Italy, Morocco, Egypt and Kenya. He has also been a professional kite shaper for Advance, an Italian kitesurfing brand. His curriculum and experience in the kitesurfing and snowkiting world, together with his easy-going attitude, make him one of the coolest characters in the Italian kitesurfing landscape to hang out with.
Above all, Francesco is a pioneer and his interest in arts led him to experiment with something new mixing it with something he knew very well, creating one-of-a-kind kites with an original artistic touch.
From this idea ‘Kite Art’ was born. Since then, numerous kiters have ridden with real pieces of art made by Francesco.
2. Ron Gibian
Ron is no stranger to Fortuna Found, we often feature him in videos, stories and more. He has been instrumental in kicking off the tutorial section of our website with videos on everything from your sewing machine to tips and techniques you can use when building your own kites.
From his Biography
"Experimenting with many forms of kites has been the standard. From whimsical figure kites in the shape of bugs, swimming goldfish, and flying birds to appliqued images and graphics on unusual shapes to the cellular or three-dimensional kites that show themselves as fabric sculptures and engineering wonders. It is our hope that no matter what forms they take, they always create a great aerial display or can be used indoors to decorate and beautify a home or office. But most of all, just simply put a smile on someone's face. It is also our hope that you will enjoy them as much as we have enjoyed realizing them."
3. Alicja Szalska
A beautiful series of kites is coming from Atelier Szalsky Kites and the mind of Alicja Szalska. Along with workshops and tutorials to help others tackle kitemaking for themselves.
4. Jacob Hashimoto
Using sculpture, painting, and installation, Jacob Hashimoto creates complex worlds from a range of modular components: bamboo-and-paper kites, model boats, even astroturf-covered blocks. His accretive, layered compositions reference video games, virtual environments, and cosmology, while also remaining deeply rooted in art-historical traditions notably, landscape-based abstraction, modernism, and handcraft.