What motivated you to become an artist? What is your path?
Being an artist for me is not a profession. It's a calling. I've been painting since birth. Like all artists I didn't understand in the beginning why God gave me such a talent, but the older I got the clearer the path I saw: the purpose of an artist is to inspire people. Art cannot be meaningless. You can't just smear paint on a canvas - that's disrespectful to art, disrespectful to the audience, disrespectful to other artists. Why did I start exhibiting my work? Because I want to convey through my work important things to those who look at my paintings. Something that can "wake from sleep", that can "light a fire inside", to motivate, to change life for the better. I want to be like Tonnie Robbins in the art world. I want people to listen to me, because I want to make a difference.
What are 3 things that set you apart from other artists ?
1. Different approaches and styles in each work. 2. A philosophy of life that everyone understands. Symbolism and ambiguity. 3. Everyone will find themselves in my work. People will look at my work and see themselves as in a mirror. It is possible to meditate to some works.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I get inspiration from the soul. From an internal state. The images come by themselves. I paint in the same way that writers write books. I have an urgent need to say something to the world, and at the same moment an image emerges through which symbols I can convey to people what I want to say. Usually such images come after a deep dream, or meditation. Or a deep inner immersion, when I have an inner dialogue on some problem that humanity has forgotten, or doesn't notice. I am inspired by what I want to inspire people.
Tell us about the design of your work, do you have a long preparatory work or is it rather spontaneous?
Absolutely spontaneous. The image that is born in the soul, in the mind, in the head is like a flash of lightning on a dark night. It's urgent to capture that image in a sketch. That's why I always have a ready primed canvas, a blank sheet of paper and a sharpened pencil at my bedside. I'm always ready to get to work. Sometimes when I'm at work and I don't have a sheet of paper handy, I can start drawing on the table.
What do you want to show in your work?
Each work is individual. But basically every piece is about bringing home to the viewer the most important values in life. Something very important. Something that makes him think about what he's probably missing out on because domestic problems, the hustle and bustle at work, credit problems and other problems overshadow the more important things in life and people forget about them. They forget about God, about the soul, about themselves. I want the person who hangs my work on their wall to always remember that there are more important things in life than a hamburger, that loans will be paid off, that you can't make all the money, that there are no pockets in a coffin and you can't take money with you to the afterlife. I want people to "wake up" and start looking around. It is important to me that people come out of the "matrix. We are not robots.
Do you use unconventional methods or materials in your work?
Yes. I think in the art world you can't limit yourself to a canvas and oil paint. You must always remember that art has no boundaries. Where a simple person sees only a straight line, an artist sees the possibility to make it crooked. Now I have come to the point that in many of my works I have started to use plywood instead of canvas, because it is a more stable material and widens the scope of my creativity. For example I can now paint on both sides of the canvas. I call it Double Art. And also I can now complement one work with another in meaning. So my picture, painted from both sides, becomes like a coin with tails and eagle. Sometimes I supplement my work with something. For example, in my last work I added sandy dust from "St. Nicholas Mountain" in acrylic paint. According to legend, St. Nicholas appeared on this mountain on a fiery horse and stopped the invasion of the enemy.
Do you have a favorite format? Why?
There is no favorite format. I like all styles. If I had a lot of money, I would have more time, which I would gladly devote to learning new formats, new styles, new approaches in art. I would study the craft of tattooing, I would study graffiti and other things more closely. But if we talk about what always impresses me is the style of drawing in the Soviet period. That chopped up style and aggressive lines have always impressed me.
What difficulties do you face in your work?
No difficulties. Sometimes I feel like I am painting with my eyes closed and someone is guiding my hand. It feels like I fall into a trance and then after a while some of the work is done. If you have not yet understood how it happens, then watch the Pixar cartoon "soul" and you will understand.
How do you work? At home, in a shared workshop, in your own workshop ?
At home. I have to work after work at home until late at night and sometimes get up early before work. It's always more relaxed at home. I can always ask people close to me if they like and are impressed by my work. They are the very first critics who see the process and the result. True, the apartment is in the city and the city is sometimes very disturbing with its energy. I have a dream. To build a house in the country with a workshop, next to the forest and to devote more time to art and not to work. Unfortunately I cannot quit my job because it is socially important and I am a highly specialized specialist and help people solve their problems. If I give it up, not many people will be able to solve these problems. Besides, I have a family and am the only one who works. Art is not always bought and not everyone wants to pay a lot of money, even for a print, and you want to eat every day. As it happens, my wife cannot work for health reasons. My daughter can't work yet, and my cat doesn't work at all =) . That's why I am an artist and still go to work.
Do you have to travel a lot due to your work as an artist?
No. But I dream about it. I dream of going to exhibitions, exhibiting in the world's galleries. I dream of personally bringing my work to some celebrity. For example, some famous actor from Europe bought my work and I loaded it into the car and took it to his house and personally handed it over with a letter of thanks.
What was the most beautiful moment of your career?
There are many. In general my public journey as an artist began with the fact that one morning I decided to paint my car with a marker. It's not a quick process and took me three months and about 360 hours. I had to paint after work, in the summer, on the street where a lot of people were constantly walking around. I liked that passersby stopped by and those who were bolder asked questions or publicly expressed their approval. Some were afraid to say anything and just furtively squinted. Some came up and took pictures while I was gone. I liked what people liked. Those who were brave enough asked what my drawings meant and I willingly explained the symbolism and meaning of each one.
How do you see your work in ten years?
Ten years from now? It's a long time. Right now we can't even be sure that tomorrow will be all right, that we'll be alive. You know what I mean?! But if you're still interested, I'd like people to appreciate what I want to convey to them. I probably have enough money to not have to think about them. I have dedicated my life to art. I inspire people with my work and my lyrics. I travel a lot. I can afford to give someone my work for nothing. I make a difference in the world.
What are you working on now? Are you planning an exhibition soon?
I finished one of my works a month ago and there is no way I can publish it because it is very emotional. Maybe today, October 22nd, 2021, or soon, it will be published. The work is called The Most Important Wealth. It is very difficult for me to publish it because it carries a very strong message. It is very important as a whole, as a work. I am still preparing a description for it. I am not planning an exhibition at the moment, and what is the point? I am constantly quarantined. And I live far away from Europe. And in Russia, there are few connoisseurs of art, especially modern art or that which differs from Shishkin, Aivazovsky or Repin. But you can always come to visit and then I will personally tell you about each painting.
If you could create a masterpiece of art history, which one would you choose?
Pablo Picasso's Girl on a Balloon.
If you could invite a famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, which one would you choose ?
Could you have two? Andy Warhol or David Bowie. Or preferably both.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
| ArtMajeur Magazine
