Italian artist PurpleRyta brings wine-on-paper art to Nairobi

Italian artist Rita Barbero, professionally known as PurpleRyta, has concluded a two-day residency in Nairobi, where she debuted a sustainable wine-on-paper technique that blends viticulture with contemporary art.

The events, held on January 29 and 30, marked the official launch of the Italian Cultural Institute of Nairobi’s 2026 calendar.

This year’s theme, “The Italian Experience: A Cultural Journey Through the Five Senses,” kicked off with Barbero’s workshops and live performances.

In the first phase of the programme at Ikigai, Westlands, Barbero guided 36 participants through two hands-on painting sessions.

Attendees experimented with the unconventional medium while tasting the specific Italian wines used in their palettes.

On Friday, the programme moved to Shamba Events as part of the Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wines Roadshow.

During the event, organised in collaboration with the Italian Embassy and the Italian Trade Agency, Barbero conducted a live, hour-long performance.

She began with a single wine “stain,” gradually transforming the blot into a completed artwork before a live audience.

Based in Italy’s Langhe region, Barbero uses untreated wine as pigment on acid-free, 100 per cent cotton paper.

Her approach centres on environmental sustainability and the simplification of reality.

Since launching the project in 2013, she has mastered the art of what she calls “painting the soul of the vineyard,” allowing spontaneous wine stains on paper to guide her brush into figurative works, most notably her Spettinate series of messy-haired women.

Combining her professional background in wine communication with a deep passion for the Piedmontese landscape, Barbero operates her Purpleplace studio in Barolo, where she transforms wine into a medium for storytelling, sustainability and cultural expression.

The artist’s philosophy is often captured in the hashtags #ilvinocontienecultura (wine contains culture) and #laculturacontienevino (culture contains wine).