What inspired you to create art and become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences...)
Shortly, I was lost. In 2014 I left the country where I was born, and I had no relevant job in the new environment, so I started to fill the hole with drawing, and then painting.
What is your artistic background, the techniques and subjects you have experimented with so far?
I have no formal education in arts, although I always had a craving for it. Years ago I took private classes of academic drawing by Ukrainian artist Oksana Samoylenko, and later learned illustration basics at Design/Illustration school. So, I tried different styles and techniques and a variety of subjects before I found a few that I am comfortable with.
What are the 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
Well, it’s really hard to say, because oil painting is a pretty traditional thing and it is not easy to invent something new here. But what I like in my artworks and myself, it’s that I am constantly evolving. I really try to expand my comfort zone with colour palettes, incorporating drawing tricks into oil painting, and experimenting with composition.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Mostly from everyday life. Also, I love fashion photography, it gives a lot of ideas for the figurative part.
What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
I need to think before starting a new painting. I have to feel it first as a whole image and parts of an image, so my hands will be ready to put strokes where I plan them to be. I’d like to think that for a viewer my artworks are kind of slow burners - “hmm, there’s something in it, and the more i look at it, the more I like it”. But, it's an ideal situation, of course.
What is the process of creating your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technical, inspiration from art classics or other)?
I partly answered it already, so, preparatory process is preferable. Sometimes I take my old works and fully redo them, because they don’t feel right, and sometimes I regret it when I see pictures of them I took before redoing.
Do you use a particular work technique? if so, can you explain it?
I use a lot of Liquin. It’s totally my medium, I almost can’t stand waiting till the layer is dry when I am in a rush to embody an image I have in my head. While painting I use brushes and fingers.
Are there any innovative aspects in your work? Can you tell us which ones?
I don’t focus on making a painting in an innovative way. Organising colour spots into a beautiful image still amazes me.
Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with? if yes, why ?
At this stage most of my paintings are of a small and medium size and I am ok with it, but I have this feeling that I am outgrowing it and will need larger canvases and larger tools soon. Also, I’d like to go back a little, to the collage portraits I did a while ago. It is very exciting and at the same time meditative work for me.
Where do you produce your works? At home, in a shared workshop or in your own workshop? And in this space, how do you organize your creative work?
My workshop is in my apartment. I actually occupied the largest room during Corona time and stayed there till this day. Paints damage my clothes from time to time, and my notebook, but it is worth it.
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, for fairs or exhibitions? If so, what does it bring you?
So far, I work locally. Make paintings locally, participate in exhibitions locally. I live in Berlin, where the art stage is big, so it’s ok for me (for now).
How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your career as an artist in the future?
For sure, I imagine myself having a solid well-known name in the art world for recognizable style and my artworks are sold at famous art auctions. Let’s see.
What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
I am very much into portraits of women. It’s the subject I know best, I love most, and my latest artwork is a female image in a realistic manner with abstract details.
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
I have probably a surprising answer for this question. The most important exhibition experience happened last August and it was about artificial intelligence. The artists trained their own AI models on their works, then created new images with those models, and results were fantastic. It was fun to work on it and super interesting in order to imagine the future of art and the place of an artist in it.
If you could have created a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why ?
It would be my own. Something epic about stages of life.
If you could invite one famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest he spend the evening?
I am a long time admirer of american artist Alex Kanevsky, i’d love to know who he is as a person, to understand how he creates these perfect images. And Jenny Saville. Maybe they would be generous enough to share some knowledge with me.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
