What made you approach art and become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences...)
I can say that I have been doing art professionally since 2016. After receiving my bachelor’s degree in architecture in 2012, I worked successfully as a designer. But two years later, in connection with the russia hybrid war against my country, a severe financial crisis began. My work ceased to bring an adequate income, and I decided to change activities. So I became an artist, for which I will always be grateful to fate.
What is your artistic journey, techniques and subjects you have experimented with to date?
I had good formal education and training in fine art when I was studying to become an architect. I studied the history of arts, drawing, perspective, composition, anatomy, painting, coloristic, sculpture, design, etc. I learned a lot about the arts myself. And I fell in love with art.
Among all the techniques, my heart prefers oil painting. But my curiosity pushes me to try other techniques. This is especially noticeable in the works from the "Metamorphoses of Lenin" series. I paint on top of found old portraits of Lenin fragments from famous paintings or drip paint on them, cut the canvases into pieces, and chaotically glue them; I paint found sculptures in funny colors and glue them with various objects. I do like to experiment.
What are 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?
First, I try to make very bright paintings. I use fluorescent paints, metallic and interference paints, and gold leaves. Ukrainians have always been famous for their urge for bright colors, excessive decorative effects, and embellishment. So the second is my origin and the history of my motherland. The complex aspects of Ukrainian aesthetic preferences, the struggle for independence, and human rights in my country make my art the way it is. And the third, maybe, my love for male beauty.
Where does your inspiration come from?
I draw inspiration everywhere. The works of other artists and popular culture, someone’s post on Instagram, a trip to a museum or a flea market, a movie theatre or a supermarket, a reading book, the appearance of a passerby on the street, or a story of a friend - anything can become a source of a new idea for me.
What is the intent of your art? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
I like complexity and contradiction in art. By embracing contradictions as well as complexity, I aim for vitality as well as validity. I prefer "both-and" to "either-or," black and white, and sometimes pink, to black or white.
I want viewers to see the realm of ideas in faces and bodies, not only a realistic image of a human. I try to combine in my paintings realities as visions of worlds within worlds. They show us an image of ourselves and hint that there is more to us than we know.
What is the process of creation of your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technique, inspiration from art classics or other)?
I do not start work until I understand exactly what the future work will look like. Often, preparatory work takes many days. Usually, I sketch in Photoshop and sometimes create an image in my head. Even if my work looks spontaneous, there are no random elements, and everything is thought out to the smallest detail.
What techniques do you prefer?If yes, can you explain it?
Among all the techniques, I prefer wet-on-wet oil painting. I like to mix colors on canvas and watch the mysterious birth of new shades. It's hard to stop in time not to spoil the best result. But only that technique makes my soul sing.
Are there any innovative aspects to your work? Can you tell us which ones?
It's almost impossible to make something new in our times. But the combination of different aspects could be something fresh.
Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with?If yes, Why?
I asked my parents to buy me oil paints at eight years old. I already had a lot of materials for creativity: watercolors, gouache paints, pastels, pencils, and felt-tip pens, but for some reason, I wanted to try oil paints on canvas. I didn’t know how to work with oils, but the process seemed to me almost something mystical and mysteriously majestic. There are good reasons why many of the great paintings of the past are oil painted. It seems to me that the oil steals a piece of soul from the portrayed. And in that way, the artwork becomes alive.
Where do you produce your work? At home, in a shared or private studio? And within this space how is your production organized?
About a year ago, I finally rented а private studio. But I had to leave my native city and studio to move to a safer part of Ukraine when russia invaded my country in February 2022.
Now I have two rooms for work in my rented apartment in Lviv, a city near the Polish border.
As regards my production process, I like it when things are in the right place. I like when my studio is clean and there is a cozy atmosphere. The paints on my pallet are always in the correct order, and I don't tolerate dry paint on it. That order helps me to avoid dirty colors on my paintings. And it's significant for me.
Does your work lead you to travel to meet new collectors, for shows or exhibitions? If so, what do you gain from it?
My art career is not very long. And my first achievements in art appear during COVID time. Now it is the sixth month of the war in my country. So there was no opportunity for an exhibition experience yet.
But I communicate extensively with new collectors via social media and online art platforms. It is great to know people like my art and want to buy it. It motivates me and helps me to grow.
How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your figure as an artist in the future?
I think my works will become bigger, brighter, and more profound. At least I work in that direction now. Honestly, I would like to be a great artist like Picasso or Warhol. But I am happy to be Balbyshev too;)
What is the topic, style, or technique of your latest artistic production?
After the war began, I thought about how to express my feelings. There are so many terrible photos of russian army war crimes. What can an artist add?
So I decided to work on religious themes that sublimated the horrors experienced by humanity for thousands of years.
My last oil painting on canvas from this series is “St. Sebastian.”
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
As I said, I haven't had a worthy mention exhibition experience yet.
If you could have created a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why would you choose it?
I am not sure I have ever seen a painting that is fully satisfying to me. There are so many famous paintings I love. But I would like to change every one of them. I like the colorful and bold artworks of David Hockney, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri Matisse. But I would like to see a beautiful male nude on them. And it's a topic of one of my ongoing projects in which I integrate a male body's sensual beauty with paintings of world-famous artists.
During my art practice, I always try to make a perfect painting in the way I see it. I hope someday I will achieve my goal.
If you could invite a famous artist (dead or living) to dinner, who would it be? How would you propose him/her to spend the evening?
My choice is Marina Abramović. I would ask her to sit immobile opposite me all evening. I understand I can't learn more about her in this way. But I believe I could know more about myself if we do that.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
