SQUA.RE Presents: The Talents of Cherry Ontherocks

Charbel Zeidan, also known as Cherry (or Cherry Ontherocks) is a vastly talented artist. He’s a fashion designer, illustrator and photographer, working for one of the most successful couture houses right now, Cherry is head designer and in-house photographer at Elie Saab. After studying Interior Architecture in the Fine Arts section at the Lebanese University in Beirut, Cherry went on to release his demons, or as would put it, his “naive, childish yet deep and sophisticated” demons.

We had pleasure to conduct an exclusive interview with Cherry and to feature his illustration of what inspired him in the women’s Spring/Summer 2010. “Chic is what attracts me to a designer. Classic chic (Donna Karen, Bottega Veneta), Modern chic (Gucci, Celine) or futuristic chic (Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent)…. 1920′s inspires my work a lot. I am fascinated by the Art Nouveau… The simplicity of the shapes, the fluidity of the lines and the mystery of the characters” said Cherry.

For the Spring/Summer 2010 season, Cherry was profoundly attracted to the works of Balenciaga, Celine, Donna Karen, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Prada, Gucci, Proenza Schouler and 3.1 Phillip Lim. That led to his “naive, childish yet deep and sophisticated” illustrations which we at SQUA.RE find to be pieces of art all on their own.

And it doesn’t stop there; Cherry’s inspiration is not only derived from fashion and designers, “Architecture added to me a strong and solid base to explore new horizons in art. It has the biggest influence on my work: whether it is gothic and dark, or organic and biomorphic or even minimalist, clean and pure. Wild life has also a big influence on my work, as I am fascinated by reptile skins and colors, with the insects’ structure and mechanism and with underwater life and its pure shapes, colors and its complexity” explained Cherry.