What motivated you to create art and become an artist (events, feelings, experiences...)?
There has never been such a specific event in my life. I grew up in an artistic family, I wanted to be an artist since I can remember, since I started being aware of all the aspects of creating... It was such an impression and a feeling that there was no other option and that I had to strive for it. I also started thinking about sculpting early in my childhood. While my peers went, proverbially, to kick the ball, I devoted these moments to creating, sometimes staying up at night. During such mundane activities as assembling paper airplanes with my father, I found incredible pleasure in building forms and spatial solids. I will not deny that it was my father, a sculptor with a great artistic output, who was a great inspiration for me, although they were also well-known artists - Zdzisław Beksiński, Hans Giger, Witkacy, Władysław Hasior. The fact that I chose the right path was confirmed by, among others, winning art competitions and, above all, the pleasure that accompanied me while creating my works.
What is your artistic background, what techniques and topics have you tried so far?
very many. From graphic techniques, such as woodcut, linocut, screen printing, through sculpture, ceramics, foundry, woodcarving, to multimedia arts. My favorites, however, are still drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, computer animation (e.g. film processing).
What are the 3 aspects that distinguish you from other artists and make your work unique?
Each artist is unique and has qualities, both in themselves and in their work, that make them stand out. It's hard for me to say what is unique about my art, I'd rather it be appreciated by the recipient. I certainly appreciate the fact that I try to figure everything out on my own, that I use a given technique, no matter how difficult and complicated it is, and I want to get to know it as best as possible, to tread my own paths - thanks to this I know that my works are completely mine. Through sculptures I express my thoughts, reflections, conclusions about the world around me, thus giving my art a deeper meaning.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Mostly from observing people and their behavior. When creating a sculpture, I have a person with specific characteristics in mind. However, I do not want to show it too literally, only as if it appeared to me through squinted eyes. I am not guided by any style, I do not create in the spirit of a given artistic trend. I am interested in relationships between people, their experiences and feelings. Although I work mainly with hard materials, such as stone and metal, I want to go beyond their "hardness" and at the same time beyond the presented human body - to tear off matter, leave emotions, this intangible sphere.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer? Probably all possible colors. I try to create dynamic sculptures and in a way I would like this dynamic to manifest itself in the reception of my works. Each sculpture tells a story about specific emotions accompanying a person, but I would not like this to limit the viewer - it is good if one sculpture evokes different reactions and affects everyone differently.
What does the creative process of your works look like? Spontaneously or with a long preparation process (technique, inspiration from the classics of art or other)?
It always starts with an idea. Then I transfer it to paper, I create sketches, I supplement them with text, with every thought that comes to mind during this process. I am waiting for the so-called spark or afterimage that will push me towards sculpting. Then I don't look at the sketchbook anymore, I don't want to close the sculpture in the first "chapter", I just give it a chance to develop, so dependent on the moment, unplanned. It happens that in the course of work you sometimes have to go back to a certain stage, think about it, rest for a shorter or longer period - do not rush ahead to finish the sculpture at any cost, here and now; It could be tomorrow, but it could also be in a month, a year.
Do you use any particular work technique? If so, can you explain it?
I try to combine several techniques when working on one sculpture, although this in itself is also not very special. However, I approach each one professionally, for example, when patination, I try not to use ready-made products, and invent my own mixtures to achieve a satisfactory effect.
Are there any innovative aspects in your work?
Can you tell us what it is? I am always curious about new things and I am sure that many innovative inventions will be used in my work. I mainly use classical creative methods, but when an idea for a sculpture requires it, I immediately look for new ways and ways to realize my project. My dream is an element that I miss when creating, although I don't know if I will ever be able to achieve it - film sculpting. Imagine a living material, e.g. clay that has no color but is an animation, a film that you can make yourself - a bust that is fading mist, flowing water, moving sand. Such a form of sculpture would be wonderful...
Do you have a format or medium that you feel most comfortable with? If so, why?
I use many media and working with each of them is unique to me. The first material I had contact with at the beginning of my creative path was stone - my father had a great influence on its choice, who carved in it all his life. Stone is beautiful by nature, depending on the treatment it can give a different impression. I owe a lot to working on it, it taught me multi-stage forward thinking, anticipating the next step. I like to combine it with canvas or some soft, fluffy material - putting them together allows you to get a kind of visual rest, relaxation. When sculpting in plasticine, I can freely work on a detail, soften or sharpen it, give every texture, lightness, always being able to return to one of the stages, fix something. An inseparable stage after making a sculpture in plasticine is casting it in bronze, which for me is a kind of axis of the media I use. The sculpture can be made of various materials, but bronze will always appear in it, due to the possibility of reproducing details and achieving lightness and dynamics of the figure. Other materials didn't always allow me to do that. Working with glass also brings me satisfaction, due to its properties, such as transparency, color, a certain penetrating power - unattainable anywhere else and thus giving it the "immateriality" I am looking for. The paints I have always loved - acrylics, oils - allow me to achieve various color effects. Colors and their combinations are extremely important to me, which can be seen in my sculptures. When creating, I traditionally use a brush, often leaving a strong brush or putty texture. I also use the airbrush to make subtle transitions or glazes.
Where are your works made? At home, in a community lab or in your own studio? And how do you organize your creative work in this space?
My work is created both at home and in the studio. At home, I usually have time to think, develop ideas, sketches, and sculpt smaller models in plasticine. Creating larger sculptures as well as working with stone, casts and their processing takes place already in the workshop, where I keep all the necessary equipment and tools. Each activity, such as grinding, welding, patination, is assigned a specific position, thanks to which I have easier work organization and I do not get lost between the individual stages of creation. In addition, it took me a long time to create a photo studio in one of the rooms next to the studio, which I had been thinking about for a long time. Photography and love for it have accompanied me since my youth - as a fourteen-year-old, I set up a backyard darkroom and developed photos in it. If I hadn't become a sculptor, I would certainly bet on photography, which has always fascinated me.
Does your job require you to travel to meet new collectors, to trade fairs or exhibitions?
If so, what does it imply? In being an artist, it is very important to appear at various artistic events, meet new people, be open-minded. I try to be a "mobile" artist, I don't want to hide in my studio. This is a form of investing in myself, without it, self-development and the development of my art would certainly be slowed down, which nowadays is rather inadvisable when striving for success.
How do you see the future development of your work and career as an artist?
I want to develop dynamically internationally. I am constantly trying to improve my workshop and move forward. I always go to new places and people. I know that I will not stop at any point, I will search, explore. Maybe I'll change the medium, move away from bronze and stone for a while? I am not attached to the present moment, I let myself be carried away by changes.
What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
It is a tall, large, standing sculpture entitled BEFIS, a bust on a stone base, supported in turn on a metal frame. It wasn't easy to put up according to my slightly crazy idea, but as I'm quite a stubborn person, I managed. The bust is made of bronze and covered with a colorful patina, the base is properly processed black Swedish granite, covered in the lower part with acrylic paints, similarly to the upper elements of the frame. It was created as a result of my thoughts on time, its passing, strength. If so, could you buy some of it, and from whom? What would such a time seller look like? I think it's a bust of him. It has a collar and buttons on the shirt, it is elegant and chic. He must be very serious and reasonable, because he is the one who sells time. I don't know how much he's being paid or what he wants in return, but I do know that anyone, rich or poor, can afford it. Of course, I do not impose my vision on the viewer, I want my sculptures to allow the recipients to discuss and that everyone can find a reflection of their own thoughts in them.
Can you tell us about your most important experience related to the exhibition?
What I remember the most from my exhibitions is the surprise that the audience liked my art. I was afraid that my artistic message would not be well interpreted, but I met with a positive reception and understanding of what I was trying to present.
If you could create a famous piece of art history, which one would you choose? But why?
Triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch to paint something with the same accuracy and idea. The surreal world presented in his paintings was a kind of emotional shock for me, related to seeing the boundless imagination of Bosch. This was additionally enhanced by the knowledge of those times and the subject matter in which the art of that time was created. With his work, he was somewhat ahead of his time, surprised with it and certainly made many people consternate. To be the Hieronymus Bosch of his time, why not?
If you could invite a famous artist (living or dead) to dinner, who would it be?
How would you propose to spend an evening with them? It would be H. R. Giger. The time spent together would consist of a night walk, so appropriate to his work, perhaps in one of the great city parks with a bottle of something stronger in his hand. At a meeting in non-stereotypical places, talks about art and its understanding, about his works and the worldview related to them.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
