ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Olesya Smolkova Cosmos and the processes taking place in it, about various scientific mysteries and hypotheses, so it is quite simple to get from the subconscious what is asked for on the canvas.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition Do you create your works gesturally, instinctively? In particular, how do you consider the role of chance and improvisation playing within your work as an artist? Olesya Smolkova: Almost always,
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Olesya Smolkova ideas for my work appear spontaneously in my mind, being the fruit of my thoughts on this or that topic. I often look at objects and see them in my own way, in my fantastic reality.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition Your artworks feature such wide variety of tones, often market out with unique, as delicate as thoughtful nuances, and we have particularly appreciated the way they create such dreamlike ambience. How does your
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your artworks in order to achieve such unique results? Olesya Smolkova: I choose the color that I like to use in my works purely intuitively, without adhering to any rules. In general, I do not like any rules in creativity, because it does not obey any guidelines and goes beyond all limits, therefore it is creativity. This is a conversation with God, with the subconscious, with nature. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, you want to express the beauty of the world and your inner universe: in this sense, your approach seems to reflect Edgar Degas' words, when he once stated that “Art is not only what you see, but what you make others see": how does your everyday life's experience fuel your artistic research? Olesya Smolkova: My works stimulate the imagination of everyone who looks at them, awakening his own imagination. The viewer composes his own fairy tale, enters into a dialogue
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Olesya Smolkova
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Olesya Smolkova with his own I. I love writing poetry and prose, scripts for films and I am taking directing courses - I started making short films. For me, any creativity is a space in which I want to live. I am sure there is still a lot I can say and show to people. One of primary impressions that we received from your artistic practice seems to distill your subjects into their absolute essence, and we really appreciate the way it captures their inner spirit, providing the spectatorship with freedom to realize their own perception: how important is for you to trigger the viewers' imagination in order to address them to elaborate personal interpretations? In particular, how open would you like your works to be understood? Olesya Smolkova: Yes, my main task is to talk with the viewer about what he sees and feels in the online format. All my paintings, texts and films will try to stimulate the viewer to
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition further, their own search for truth. We have really appreciated the originality of your artistic production and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Olesya. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future?
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Olesya Smolkova Olesya Smolkova: Now I am learning how to make films, write good scripts. Painting helps me find the right paths, energizes me and inspires me. Thank you so much for your interesting and deep questions. I am amazed by them. Thanks again! https://www.instagram.com/photo_art_smolkova)
Hello Simone and welcome to ARTiculAction. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production and we would like to invite our readers to visit https://u.osu.edu/robinson-2163 in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production, and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. You have a solid formal training and you are currently completing your BFA at The Ohio State University: how does this experience influence your evolution as an artist? Moreover, how does your cultural substratum direct the trajectory of your current artistic research? Simone Robinson: Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be featured in this year’s ARTicuLAction. I am first so grateful and honored to be a part of this year's Biennial Edition. I started at Ohio State in 2019, and originally started my collegiate journey at Kent State University in the fall of 2017. Originally, I was a biology major and fine arts major because my plan was to do biomedical illustration. Soon I realized though that being a biology major was harder than I was expecting and I did not have time to put in any effort into both fine arts and my biological degree. So I made the decision to switch majors (which I encourage other students to do if you’re really passionate about something that is not your current major). The switch to major in fine arts was hard at first, I was extremely nervous because not many people switch their majors in the middle of their college career. I realized however, that if I did not do this then I knew I would not be happy with my career choice but more importantly, myself. When I came to Ohio State the transfer was not a big culture shock because I am from Columbus, Ohio. My ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART meets Simone Robinson An interview by , curator and , curator Simone’s portfolio consists of work that speaks to the viewer both visually and conceptually. Her work centers around the idea of what it means to be creative outside of being comfortable. For a long time, her work was 2-dimensional, but more recently, her work includes various other forms of art making and expression. Robinson’s pieces are inspired by the knowledge she has acquired while being an art student and while being an intern with the Shumate council. During her time in the OSU undergraduate program, she was able to be diverse in her program of study and learn about multiple mediums of art making such as sculpting, drawing, painting, 3D modeling, photography and more recently murals.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Edition Special Edition
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Simone Robinson experience there is still happening, which is one that I am extremely grateful for. Artistically I have never felt so free as I have felt at Ohio State. This is because my professors I have had have all been so open to my ideas and do not put me in a box or make me feel like I have to hide who I am in my artwork. Before Ohio state, I thought art was made only for the aesthetic and nothing else. In High School I was not told that art told stories, history and trauma and that it can be a voice that holds weight in society. Over the past couple years, I have made it a point to make sure my art shares stories, especially stories of marginalized people and myself. My intersectionality characteristics are somewhat complex, because I am a Black woman, with a speech disability, this makes me a minority. I also come from a middle-upper class family and I am straight so I grew up constantly being hyper aware of myself in different communities and
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition environments. This hyper-awareness has been a constant theme in my artwork so I am constantly peeling back layers of myself and others in my artistic research. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of ARTiculAction —and that our readers have already had the chance to get to know in the introductory pages of this article — has at once captured our attention for your unique ability to capture evocative details of your subjects, conveying them into such consistent and harmonic unity: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us how do you develop your ideas? In particular, do you create your works intuitively, instinctively? How important are
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Simone Robinson improvisation and spontaneity in your practice? Simone Robinson: I wish I could just give a detailed and specific way of how I create. However, it is different every time depending upon the piece I am working on and the reason I am working on it. There are a couple things that always remain constant no matter what I am creating and usually I always meditate before I make a piece. The reason being is because is proven to release a lot of toxins and stress in the body throughout the day. I think it is so important to have a sound mind when doing anything, especially things that are creative. Another constant in my creativity is that I always listen to music or a podcast before I create a piece because my mind seems to be the most calm at these specific moments. I usually listen to a man named Sadghuru. He is not only an intellectual, but his mindset is light and easy to comprehend especially those struggling with mental health and well being. My ideas usually spring from everyday life either my own or others. I think of life as a book with different chapters and endings, some happy, some sad but overall there is a strong similarity between all beings that we have somehow lost through our society and impulsive standards. I think of my artwork as being the voice that vocalizes these similarities and connections that as a society, we are sometimes too afraid to share. I would say that I create with instinct and intuition. My process involves a lot of observation and honestly just listening. My latest video work is a series of interviews strung together that talk about the language of mental health and overcoming insecurities. However, I was not able to include these pieces in this edition (which I am a little sad about) but I think it would be hard to include a video in a magazine, however I included some screenshots. I think it is so important to listen and observe because that is how I learn the most and do not make recurring mistakes. Some of the works I have included in this article are pastel and paint works and these are probably the most planned out pieces. The reason being is because I like to create pieces that are somewhat realistic and this requires a lot of planning and just time. But I am learning to be more open to improvisation and spontaneity in my work especially in abstract pieces.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition Your portraits are marked out with unique combination between sense of geometry and careful choice of tones, that provide your works with visual fluidity and sense of movement: how do you structure your process in order to achieve such brilliant results? In particular, how does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your artworks? Simone Robinson: Again, I wish I could give a straight to the point way of how I do things but much of my life is fluidity. In college all of my friends called me a free spirit because I do not provide myself with conditions in anything I do or some sort of protocol. I would say the most structure or strategic process I have is most apparent in my portrait pieces because Like I mentioned earlier, these include realism. I have been working with pastels since I was 12 and I learned everything about how to blend them from my first art teacher, Cynthia Golden. She was the first person to tell me that pastels were not chalk and to call them that is a disgrace. My results come from just trust and faith. At first my pieces look terrible when I first start and I am not being dramatic because they do. But like most things at first the results seem so far off but overtime you keep going, and eventually you get something beautiful. Psychologically, for me it is all faith. I trust that I know what I am doing and that the colors I use will work together harmoniously. It is very intimate what I do and I tend to work alone and not ask for advice. Your portraits seem to unveil hidden details of the identity of your character to manifest: what’s your philosophy on the nature of portraiture? How do you select the people that you decide to include in your artworks? Simone Robinson: Typically, my portraits are of people who look like me. I remember when I was four years old and always drawing figures and portraits with a brown crayon, which I know seems casual but at that age this was astonishing to my family especially to the women in my family. My aunt always reminds me of the story of when she first saw me draw people with the color brown, and she would always say, “she knows who she is”. When I was four, I did not realize what my aunt meant, but now that I am older and a bit wiser, I have a better sense of what she was saying. Since then I have made it an effort to draw people who look like me because it is important to show that artwork and art making can be a diverse practice. Also, my dream career field is to
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Simone Robinson become a medical illustrator, and this specific career field makes it an effort to not show people of color in anatomical drawings in textbooks. There are instances of Black and Brown anatomy being shown in medical art , however, it is usually shown as disease and sickness. Most of the time my subjects are picked randomly. I just like drawing people. We really appreciate the way your artworks engage the viewers on the emotional aspect: do you aim to create allegorical images able to trigger the viewers' imagination, inviting them to elaborate personal interpretations? And how open would you like your works to be understood? Simone Robinson: I will be honest before I started my academic college career, I had no idea how to create allegorical images. I was not taught in high school how to convey my artwork in a way that would be meaningful in terms of telling a story of morality or politics. I was not familiar or really even knew that it was possible to use art to tell narratives fictional or non-fictional. It makes sense though, now that I am older and have received knowledge from my professors from both Ohio State and Kent State that artwork for centuries was used to tell stories about life, especially art of the Renaissance. Most of my artwork today is meant to be allegorical. This is because I truly believe it is my job to spread the news of the world around us visually, especially information that is not taught in schools and that is hidden from the naked eye. However, I am a big fan of Susan Sontag, who is a philosopher among other professions, who believes to not look too deep into interpretations. She wrote about how over analyzing can be a dangerous game between the viewer and the artwork. Sometimes over analyzing can lead to creating interpretations that were never meant to exist in the first place, but interpretations are really just our own opinions and everyone has a right to their own understandings. I would say when looking at my photographic images to remember Sontag’s theory and try not to read too much into them. Just look and keep your eyes on the surface because honestly, the images are very simple. Your artworks are inspired by the knowledge that you acquired while being an art student and while being an intern with the Shumate council, and at
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition the same time they are sapiently imbued with powerful narrative drive: how does your memories and your everyday life's experience fuel your creative process? Simone Robinson: I am so thankful for everything. I think a lot of my work is fueled by the opportunities I have had from Ohio State. Before going to OSU I felt like I was hiding from myself and was kind of asleep. I do not want to sound cliche however, I feel like I am finally waking up to my style of artwork. I enjoy using my past experiences and using the experiences of those around me to create. Recently, most of my pieces involve interviewing (which is kind of ironic since I am answering interview questions currently). I want to tell stories of my environment because this is raw and real to me. People give me joy, and I am all about spreading love and compassion and I am so lucky my artwork is able to do this. You are a versatile artist and your artistic practice encompasses sculpting, drawing, painting and 3D modeling: what does direct you to such cross disciplinary approach? In particular, are there any experiences that did particularly help you to develop your attitude to experiment? Simone Robinson: Again, I want to thank Ohio State for giving me the chance to explore my creativity without having too many conditions and terms. I think it is so important to have a strong classical drawing background, and to know the technique of how to draw subjects correctly in terms of proportion and scale. However, being able to be cross disciplinary is also a key aspect in having a strong connection to allegorical artwork. For a long time I was so afraid to go beyond the medium of drawing, because I did not have the confidence to do so but I pushed myself during my last two years of college to become more comfortable with performance, sound and visual art. One of the experiences that I have had to help me develop my attitude towards experimentation, is learning about other artists. Artist such as Aminah Robinson, Kara Walker, David Lynch among others, have shown me various ways of how to be visually expressive. With their unconventional as well as powerful storytelling, your artworks challenge the logic of ordinary perception, urging the viewers to a participative effort, and especially to question the nature of the act of looking itself: Scottish 1 artist Peter Doig once remarked that even the most realistic work of arts are derived more from within the head than from what's out there in front of us, how do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination, playing within your artistic production?
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Simone Robinson
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Simone Robinson Simone Robinson: This is a really good question because it forces me to challenge my artwork in a way that I haven’t thought about. I think this question relates mostly to my photographic piece “The intimacy we share” because this piece received a lot of mixed reviews from family and friends. This piece was probably one of my most spontaneous pieces because it literally took me less than 4 hours to make. The photographs were taken for one class, and I just printed them, cut them out and repasted them to glass. I layered the glass with photographs about three times over to create the glossy look and this piece was for a final in one of my OSU classes. This piece was chosen for an art show in Columbus and was picked as “best in show” which came as a surprise to me because I did not know it had any real “weight” to it or consideration in the artworld. This piece actually saved my art career because it was the piece that showed me that I could do collage in a way that could be provocative, yet also in a way elegant. People called my piece pornographic, innappropriate and just odd? However, it was never intended to be any of these things but I am a strong believer that once art becomes public, my intentions no longer matter. Direct relationship with the viewers in a physical context is definitely the most important one, in order to snatch the spirit of a work of Art. However, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to the online realm — as Instagram — increases: how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalized audience? And how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? Simone Robinson: I think if I’m understanding this question correctly, my opinion on changing the relationship with art to a more globalized audience would consist of having more online exhibitions, and maybe creating an app that all museums could use for one database for anyone to use to look at different pieces from anywhere. I think this would be especially true for pieces all across the globe, that people cannot always see in person due to financial setbacks. I also always had a certain bias against museums that hosted stolen artworks and artifacts. This is especially true for European museums that have not yet returned or acknowledged pieces that were confiscated during certain excavations during the 18th, 19th and 20th century. Majority of these
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition pieces were taken from African and middle eastern countries who do not always have an abundance of their own museums, to show their own work from their ancestors. The nature of my relationship with my audience is somewhat distant. I do not create work for people to just look at for aesthetic purposes, I create pieces that have meaning that most of the time are dedicated to mental health or true experiences that I have witnessed or have researched. I create for people who need art the most. We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Simone. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Simone Robinson: Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I am truly grateful to finally have the chance to explain my artistic process, ideas and theories with this magazine. I feel so honored and fulfilled, usually I am the one interviewing others so having this change gave me a chance to really ask myself the important questions of who I am as an artist. Currently, I am working on doing more outreach within my work and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. For a long time, I was hiding. I was afraid of being my authentic self because of my own ego, literally used to get physically ill thinking about sharing my stories through my art and online. However, I am no longer afraid to be open about my insecurities and myself. If there is one thing to take away from this interview is to understand that doing the things that scare you the most will save you. It will save you from regrets, heartbreak and overall immaturity. Be yourself too. That is a big one for me. As someone with an articulation/sound deficiency I fight everyday to not care about what other people think about me, so do not be a football to other people’s opinions especially when it comes to your creativity. In the future, I hope to explore more video and photographic work. I am really interested in Buddhism, Bodhisavatta and the Dharma so I am hoping to explore this aspect of my life in my work in some shape or form. Lastly, I just want to end suffering for all and I am continuing to explore this ability within my Buddhist and artistic practice.
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Simone Robinson
Hello Huaika and welcome to ARTiculAction. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production and we would like to invite our readers to visit https://happylabsantateresa.art in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production, and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. Your journey in the world of Visual ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART meets Huaika Reale An interview by , curator and , curator The beginning of my artistic career is motivated by an inner necessity, but also by a dependence on the artistic technique for the search for the necessary talent for the idea. The study of fashion design started in adolescence follows a long self-taught path, the university study of the History of Art interrupted, it continues alone over the years. I have used all the fundamental tools to fulfill the vocation of my life. Drawing, watercolor and oil painting are my favorite mediums generally on paper, wood or canvas supports. In my creations the perception of the world is expressed with contents that are easily readable by the viewer, but it present itself in situations that cannot be foreseen. From this experience we derive a creative purpose, which serves a living content trapped on the canvas that shows us a different dimension, where the colors are solid and the red dominates. The values that move our choices, freedom, equality, faith, human rights, social processes and human coexistence are represented as dreamlike visions full of iconographic symbols that help to reconnect and recognize events that have marked our past and give meaning to facts represented. Great respect for cultural and artistic history is the common thread that binds classical characters or historical elements, animals, angels, and extraterrestrials in a structural tangle that complicates the logic of the discourse and sometimes escapes the distracted observer, a language that requires an effort to interpret the intentions of the message. References to classical art, the past, the precarious balance of our present and the juxtaposition of scenarios and characters of a hypothetical future participate in the construction of an irrational or nonsense composition, but they follow a responsible strategy that paradoxically obeys a symbolic message of hope, that feeling that creates a tension or rather a feeling of joy even when in the fluctuating balance of the known and the unknown… and exceeds the limits of space and time. The disquiet of the characters hides the secret that ignores the uncertainty of the future and acts as a thrust for our present.
Distance MMXX
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Huaika Reale Arts started in the field of Fashion Design: you studied History of Art for two years in Rome, and after having worked as a flight attendant, you moved to Costa Rica, where you have had the chance to study classical art, pre-Columbian art and you also developed personal artistic techniques. You later obtained the certificate in Modern Art from the prestigious MOMA of New York City, as well as a Certificate in Roman Architecture from Yale University: how did those formative years Pianeta Rosso
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition influence your evolution as an artist? Moreover, how does the multifaceted nature of your cultural substratum direct the trajectory of your current artistic research? Thanks to ARTiculAction for giving me the opportunity to reflect on my creative path and to give voice to my thoughts. The training, as you have well described, shows a not linear and direct trajectory, but above all multifaceted. I believe that these characteristics are today one of my strengths. Versione 2
C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Madeleine Rhondeau ARTICUL CTION A Special Issue Victory of Faith
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition This long and varied preparation period helped to create my own personal language. At the same time as my study, my maturation and experiences also influenced this evolution. Undoubtedly the Italian origins, fashion, studies and work experiences have shaped that substratum you speak of. Today, my research in the artistic field, in its simplicity, focuses on space-time travel, from which I derive a living dimension where logic and the irrational meet. Furthermore, the continuous desire to improve artistically causes me a feeling of constant dissatisfaction that leads me more and more to deepen the knowledge of my interiority in search of the deepest and most true chords. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of ARTiculAction —and that our readers have already had the chance to get to know in the introductory pages of this article — has at once captured our attention for the way you sapiently use such powerful combination of realistic elements and unique surrealistic sensitiveness, to highlight the connection between the realm of spirituality and material world: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us how do you develop your ideas? In particular, do you create your works intuitivelly, instinctively? How important are improvisation and spontaneity in your practice? The first stage of the creative process is pure intuition and chaos, pure creativity and emotions spontaneously trace the lines and foundations. This is followed by a period of incubation, of study of the composition, message and symbols. The realization proceeds in parts and is oriented to bring order. Often the depicted reality is distorted to serve the concept or to create unusual associations. I combine elements of the classics of art by creating new connections of ideas in a visionary language, where a spiritual and dreamlike realm joins the material world ... probably as you say, with a personal surrealistic sensitivity. Your artworks are marked out with such sapient combination between rigorous sense of geometry and precise choice of tones, that — as the stimulating Betesda Angél — provide your works with recognizable visual identity: how do you
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Huaika Reale On The Road
Thinking of You
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition The Room
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Huaika Reale structure your process in order to achieve such brilliant results? In particular, how does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your artworks? The use of the term wise when describing color in my works surprises me, I confess I have fearful respect mixed with devotion for how the greats use color ... I am thinking of the vibrant notes of the Impressionists or of Leonardo's nuance. In front of the immense potential of color, I become paralyzed, it is a means of emotional expression and a basic tool for construction. In many works I was inspired by the colors used in Roman wall painting, inside the famous Pompeian domus, elegant combinations that identify my Roman origins and help me divide the spaces into often bi or tripartite bands. As in the MMXX series. In the specific case of the Angel of Betesda, on the other hand, I harmoniously combined cold colors with gold and in the background soft references to the sunsets of Victory of Faith The Room
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition Playa Santa Teresa, the place where I live in Costa Rica. We definetely love the way Victory in faith and L'Arca features such stunning combination between realistic elements and such unique reminders to the spiritual, almost dreamlike dimension. Scottish artist Peter Doig once remarked that even the most realistic work of arts are derived more from within the head than from what's out there in front of us, how do you consider the relationship between reality and
Prediction_MMXX
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Special Edition imagination, playing within your artistic production? As Peter Doig rightly quotes, painting is a mental act even when the real world is represented and in my opinion it is doubly so when it represents the imaginary or the dreamlike. Victory of faith is a triptych from 2019/20, in the central panel a spiritual scenario dominates. The artist is represented sleeping, behind her strange characters populate the darkness, ancestral, zoomorphic, monstrous figures, below Salvador Dalì. The sheets are an ocean and the pillow a lover in a different reality. The virgin of Guadalupe dominates the central space with her back to the observer, while she turns her gaze to a multitude of beings of all times, as the living hourglasses show us. Bizarre of my subconscious with a spiritual message to find a meaning to the events of life through the mysteries revealed in the Bible, as in the Ark, where we see a strong Moses drag the Ark over his shoulder during the flood that happens inside a glass of whiskey. The alien spaceship is alive and appears to have a temporal purpose. I believe that these descriptions are a clear example of the interplay between reality and imagination in my artistic production. We have particularly appreciated your sapient use of peculiar iconographic symbolism, that — especially in the interesting Thinking of You and The Room — evokes the ubiquitous connection between Past and Present: how do you consider the role of symbols and metaphors in your creative process? In particular, are you interested in creating works of art with marked allegorical features? The values that move my choices of freedom, equality, faith, rights, social processes or human coexistence are represented as visions loaded with iconographic symbols or metaphors that help me to reconnect and recognize events that have marked the past and attribute meaning to facts described. In particular, in Thinking of you I have placed next to the personification of the tide painted as a beautiful woman in blue robes a Neptune that refers to the emblematic statue attributed to Bartolomeo Ammannati. Medusa's face appears on the treasure map, staring at the observer and revealing a disenchanted message “U Fucked Up!” It is she who denounces the environmental emergency that threatens our planet, marine pollution. Also in the painting The Room from the elaboration of a personal theme gives rise to a social theme on the figure of the woman. Set in a Roman domus, the wall deforms like a thin sheet while a marble pillar forms the basis of the vision of Hercules depicted with 3 daggers instead of legs. The woman is represented with a restless gaze as she talks on her cell phone, fragility and generating force. The composition has an unbalanced structure ... the room is empty inside and the action takes place at its entrance, where music by Mozart plays and the mask falls and catches fire. The woman has always embodied an ideal of beauty that too often is made available to a hungry society, attentive only to her appearances and often indifferent to her potential. Some of your works, as the extremely stimulating Prediction MMXX and Equilibrio Complicato conveys such ambivalent and in a certain sense unsettling ambience, able to raise a wide variety of feelings and emotions. Through such seductively ambiguous visual language, we daresay that your artistic production aims to urge the spectatorship to a participative effort, to realize their own interpretation. Austrian Art historian Ernst Gombrich once remarked the importance of providing a space for the viewers to project onto, so that they can actively
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Huaika Reale participate in the creation of the illusion: how important is for you to trigger the viewers' imagination in order to address them to elaborate personal interpretations? In particular, how open would you like your works to be understood? In the Prediction MMXX canvas, the world described is presented in an enigmatic way. Medusa_MMXX
ARTICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w Special Issue Special Edition Classical architectures, animals, astronauts and aliens stage a structural tangle that complicates the logic of the discourse and perhaps escapes the distracted observer, forcing the viewer to make an effort to interpret the intentions of the message. It is due to a conscious strategy that paradoxically obeys a tension or rather a feeling Equilibrio Complicato
ICUL CTION A C o n t e m p o r a r y A r t R e v i e w ART Special Issue Huaika Reale of joy called hope that in the uncertainty of the future pushes me forward on our path. And so, references to classical art embody the past, astronauts ready to travel to Mars our present and biblical elements or monstrous aliens in a hypothetical future. In the canvas a “Complicated balance”, the theme is love ... that energy that starts from within our being, runs through the bones and reaches the head in the metaphysical construction of its complicated balances. Through my artistic work, I have the opportunity to cross my safety zones, ride parallel or incredible dimensions and elaborate and perhaps understand the meaning of life, human events or myself. It is vital for me to stimulate the observer's thought to involve him and thus create a bond that unites us in the dimension of the painting ... however, I want to clarify, with no desire to impose but only to share a journey. You are a versatile artist and your artistic production challenges the logic of ordinary perception, unveiling the connection ancient cultural heritage and contemporary scenarios: how do you consider the relationship between Past and Present playing within your artistic research? In particular, do you aim to create a bridge between Tradition and Contemporariness? (here we have reserved space for On The Road and The Candles You Set, that if you like you could mention in your answer, as well) Historia Magistra Vitae, teaches me that the future cannot be separated from the past and there is no future if we empty it of values and lived experiences. My artistic research aims to make different worlds coexist and combines elements that our logic does not naturally allow us to link together. I enjoy creating temporal dilations: past, present and future, in the constrained space of a few cm like On The road, a canvas of only 40 cm where there is a depiction The Candles You Set
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