Maria Bordeanu ART Habens 24201 Special Issue and propose alternate versions of it within the same canvas. I still prefer images that have a certain stillness in them and I work more with the square, which has a static balance. I could say I am searching for a different layer beyond places and things we already know.
Special Issue 4012 Charade
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ART Habens Agnes Durbet-Giono Special Issue Backbone 403
Agnes Durbet-Giono Can you tell us something about your beginnings as an artist? What motivated you to pursue artistic career, how and when did it all start? I always was resistant to any formation or qualification since an early age. I was never able to conform to what was expected and teachers were mere shadows who had little influence on my life. I started to take pictures after my introduction to the industrial word where I feel at ease. Who are your biggest influences; people, movements, styles you looked upon while establishing your visual language? Symbolism is key. Story telling as well. Mythology, paganism, witch hunt were part of my reality all my life. 404 Special Issue I had a fascination with the Italian renaissance, the classical Greek statues from the most primitive to the Roman invasions.
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Special Issue 24053 I absolutely adored the neo classics and the romantics, the way they pushed the body to extreme unrealistic excess, the portraiture of humanity in total luxuriance. I love the hidden treasures of the primitive and their false uncomplicated aspects. I love flesh and metal, wood and concrete as well as all mineral textures. How would you describe your style in terms of techniques, mediums, materials you use etc.? What are those specific features that make your work unique and original? Maybe I should tell you more about what I am not. I am not a photographer, nor a technical wiz. I can’t pretend to be a specialist in anything. I do not search for reality or to be the witness of some beautiful ART Habens Agnes Durbet-Giono
24061 Special Issue Agnes Durbet-Giono ART Habens
ART Habens Agnes Durbet-Giono Special Issue 24073
ART Habens 24081 Special Issue scenery, historical event and political moment. I do not want to accuse, aggress. I use all medium in my possession and capacity to translate a feeling a vision even futile of the magic haunting my daily life…my own reality. How does your creative process look? I sense presences while working in a world haunted by masculinity, virility. I see ghosts and after taking pictures of sewages treatment plants, water filtrations system, factories etc. I over impose their silhouettes What is your greatest inspiration? LOVE What are the themes you usually tackle in your work and Agnes Durbet-Giono
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Special Issue 24093 why are they of particular interest to you? I work with only men. I am very physical in my job. I usually work with 2 contrasting images to question the overrated perception of what society see as beautiful and ugly. I try to balance feminine and masculinity. Which project, exhibition, artwork etc. do you find most significant in your work so far? Can you single out some important milestones in your career? All my exhibits in Sydney and in France were important and all of them personal milestones. The public, their feedback is important but creating is something I would do no matter how. ART Habens Agnes Durbet-Giono
24101 Special Issue Agnes Durbet-Giono ART Habens Murailles Celestes
Tunnel Vision
Special Issue 24113 ART Habens Agnes Durbet-Giono Sinfeud
24121 Special Issue What are the messages you’re trying to send to the viewers and what are the responses (feelings, questions, thoughts…) you hope to provoke? See further, don’t think reality is what is fed to you by the media, go inside fetch all these feelings you were meant to explore, the painful and the pure pleasure. Dance with all the demons and angels hidden in all the rays of light and the dark places. Breathe the contrasts and live as you can possibly love with all this passion that mold us into flesh. Don’t believe global reality at least for short laps of your life, one breath at the time. In changing yourself you can improve way more than you think in this world. What are your plans for the future (this year and in general)? Agnes Durbet-Giono ART Habens
Sixteen
Special Issue 2413 Write more love letters through drawings, photographs and words. Enjoy Hades kingdom, the underground palace under Sydney. ART Habens Agnes Durbet-Giono Sixteen
Special Issue 4012 Anna Tereshina at her studio in Basel, Switzerland Lives and works in Basel, Switzerland Photo by Alina Chistova Photography www.alinachistova.com
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ART Habens Anna Tereshina Special Issue Breaking the dawn, 2018. Mixed media on canvas 403
Anna Tereshina Hello Anna and welcome to ART Habens. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background: over the years you always nurtured your passion for Fine Arts, and after having settled in Switzerland, you decided to continue your artistic education at the prestigious Basel School of Design: how did these formative years influence your evolution as an artist? In particular, prior to turning back to Fine Arts, you worked as a graphic designer and freelance photographer. What made you decide to switch careers? For me it’s been always literally a torture: obligation to choose only one creative path. Not because I didn’t know what I want, but completely opposite: I’ve always been interested to make visual arts, if speaking of photography or graphic design, crafts and hand-made or fine arts. I think, nowadays it’s such a pity that the artist should choose only one path. I mean, take a look at any book about being successful as an artist or illustrator and you’ll see the first tip: choose your style and keep the works consistent. Well, of course, consistency is a key. But in my opinion, it’s unfair. What if I have more creativity than it can be impressed in one technique? What if I think about genial artists of the past, such as Da Vinci? Or Picasso - just look at his story, how many styles he tried, how many techniques! Can you imagine young Picasso going to art’s consulting and receiving a tip «please stuck to one style and you’re going to be successful»? Nonsense. But nowadays it’s a usual story. I’ve been pushed 404 Special Issue An interview by , curator and curator by society to choose one path and suffered because of it. For example, already for 10 years I’m working as a graphic designer - not only because of stabile day job, but also because I love it. A little different story with photography - last Photo by Alina Chistova Photography www.alinachistova.com
Special Issue 24053 year I’ve got a burnout because of too many commercial projects - I’ve always been putting all my energy in the process. I’ve kept the number of such projects low, because it’s an artistic process as well, I couldn’t turn it into the business pure, it’s much more than that. That’s why now I’m taking a break with commercial photography, to charge my «photo-batteries» and to keep my eye as fresh as possible. With fine arts it’s a bit different - it’s always been a passion and a soul healing process. Painting is a way of self-finding and expressing my ideas. After years at art school I was experienced to paint realistic - as close to nature as possible. But I always wanted more. Basel School of Design helped me to spread my horizons and try new techniques, as well as to get know other artists and to share our experience. Then after a long process of researching, collecting visual experiences and creating my own world of inspiration, I’ve finally felt free enough to ART Habens Anna Tereshina Succulent garden, 2018 Acrylic on canvas Velvet forest, 2018 Acrylic on canvas
Apple garden, 2018 Acrylic on canvas
Waves, 2018 Acrylic on canvas
ART Habens 24081 Special Issue start creating abstract pieces. But the truth is - everything I make, is actually by default «my style». From graphic design I’m creating for a company and illustrations I made for a children’s book, to any artwork I’m creating for myself or as a commission. We have appreciated the way the results of your artistic inquiry convey a coherent combination between intuition and rigorous aesthetics to question the theme of human perception: we would like to invite our readers to visit http://www.annatereshina.com in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, we would like to ask you if you think that there is a central idea that connects all of your work as an artist. Any idea that comes to my mind should grow and ripe somehow. I usually write all the ideas Anna Tereshina Colibrious, 2018 Acrylic on canvas Wisdom in there (Snake Nr. 1), 2018 Acrylic on canvas
Special Issue 24093 down to one of my numerous notebooks or sketch it. That way, I’m creating a library of ideas, that I can use any moment if I have time to spend couple of hours for painting or any other technique. This particular idea can come from anything possible - from a book read, movie watched to just a color combination seen on the street or in the forest while walking. Many paintings I’ve created started with a mood while traveling. It’s not only about the colors, it’s also the light captured with my eyes, the smell of flowers of fresh baken bread, even a distressed plaster on the wall. I’m happy that I can capture this moment and freeze it in time with my art. Like a photo, not realistic, but delicately formed by my brain and heart into a visual artwork. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of ART Habens and that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article ART Habens Anna Tereshina Blue orchid, 2018 Acrylic on canvas Flamingo unicorn 2018 Acrylic on canvas
Paradise bird, summer 2018 Acrylic on canvas
Listen to the wind 2018 Acrylic on canvas
24121 Special Issue has at once captured our attention for the way you sapiently combined delicate tones with abstract feeling, as in the interesting Breaking the Dawn, a captivating artwork that as at once impressed for the way it communicates joyful sensation: would you tell us your sources of inspiration? How did you conceived this interesting work? This piece started as a color combination, sketched on my palette. While bringing the first brush strokes on a canvas, I felt it has potential in the form. When I mean that I use intuition as my main instrument, it’s literally an intimate process of communication between my rational decisions and sudden impulsive happy mistakes. Suddenly I’ve seen a form of a ship floating between seascape and pink light rays from a sun rising. This artwork somehow was inspired by wonderful masterpieces by J. M. W. Turner and early impressionism. Love how artists of this period delicately used the colors and textures. We have really appreciated the vibrancy of thoughtful nuances of your canvas, and we Anna Tereshina ART Habens On the coast 2018 Acrylic on canvas Can you hear the nightingale? 2018 Acrylic on canvas
Special Issue 2413 like the way Succulent Garden and Velvet Forest show that vivacious tones are not strictly indespensable to create tension and dynamics. How did you come about settling on your color palette? And how much does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in an artwork and in particular, how do you develope a texture? Of course any work of any artist mostly contain our own choices. If you take a look at ART Habens Anna Tereshina Gelato series, 1-2-3. Acrylic on wooden board
24141 Special Issue my preferences in a color palette - I use lots of natural earthy tones, such as browns/grays/greens. Also blue and pink are my go-to colors. You almost can’t find purples and lots of red in my artworks, nevertheless I used to paint lots of red artworks earlier in my career. I think, it’s a natural process of choosing your favorite palette, if speaking of art or lifestyle and even your outfits. I also love to use black and white to settle the contrast - but I always try not using them straight from the tube, but mix my own tone Anna Tereshina ART Habens
Special Issue 24153 that fits particular artwork. When thinking about the texture - of course, my artworks are paintings, which makes them 2D-works, but I’m always trying to give them more depth and volumes, both using colors and textures. Sometimes I use my older pieces as a underpaint, which makes texture more interesting. My favorite inspiration of using texture in painting is Willem de Kooning, who’s the king of textured canvases for me. Intuition is at the basis of your creative process and as you have remarked in your artist's statement, natural world is your main source of inspiration: how importance does everyday life's experience ― including your current travels as well as your memories of the Finnish Bay where you grew ― play in your creative process? Could mention a work that has been inspired by a particular experience? Cherry Blossom painting is obviously inspired by spring gardens in Basel, where I live, and the Paradise Bird is a summer edition of «the seasons» series, has been painted impressed by our Bali trip. I don’t really remember a lot of visual images from my early childhood, more like colorful spots: heather bushes, cold wind on the bay or light rays coming through pine twigs. ART Habens Anna Tereshina Clouds over the B-city, 2018. Mixed media on canvas Frozen in time, 2018. Mixed media on canvas
24161 Special Issue Anna Tereshina ART Habens I can see the space in you, 2018. Mixed media on canvas
Special Issue 2413 ART Habens Anna Tereshina Spring, 2018. Mixed media on canvas
24181 Special Issue We like the way Listen to The Wind and Waves convey the idea of movement: we daresay that your artistic practice seems to aim to look inside of what appear to be seen, rather than its surface, providing the spectatorship with freedom to realize their own perception. How important is for you to invite the viewers to elaborate personal meaning? And what do you hope that your audience take away from your artworks? That’s exactly what I want viewers to experience - not the exact moment in time, not only a painted photo of something realistic, but the feeling. What do you think about when watching the waves on the coast? How does it touch your soul? What do you feel when the warm summer wind plays with your hair? It’s all about the question, not the answer. That’s why I love to work abstract. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of your paintings have a more figurative feature, as Cherry Blossom, Paradise Bird and Apple Trees: how would Anna Tereshina ART Habens Where the stars are born, 2018. Mixed media on canvas Cotton candy clouds, 2018. Mixed media on canvas
Special Issue you consuder the relationship between abstraction and figurative in your practice? In particular, how does representation and a tendency towards abstraction find their balance in your work? Like almost every decision, it’s only a question of mood. I percept art process as something really personal, even selfish somehow - it’s the only egoistic kind of decision I tend to make in my everyday life. Here nothing has more weight or authority than my own feelings and current mood. Sometimes I just have more figurative images in my head that waiting to be revealed and expressed. Sometimes it’s about that feeling of being mighty enough to give life to some fantasy creature - to bring it on canvas or paper. Another body of work that we would like to mention is the triptych Gelato: how do would you tell us something about the genesis of this interesting project? In particular, why did you conceived is a triptych and not as a single canvas? 19243 ART Habens Anna Tereshina Midnight garden, 2018. Mixed media on canvas Snow leopard, 2018. Mixed media on canvas
Dreaming of L. 2018. Mixed media on canvas
Anna Tereshina at her studio in Basel, Switzerland Photo by Alina Chistova Photography www.alinachistova.com
24221 Special Issue These three pieces are actually purely inspired by my trip to Venice and Lido (an island nearby). I’ve been amazingly obsessed by color combinations seen on Venice’s streets. The famous dusty pink color, as well as «venetian red», known as one of the popular paint names made me feel inspired and immediately after I’ve started this triptych. You artworks often include elements rich of symbolic elements and references to the realm of imagination, as in Wisdom In There Snake and Flamingo Unicorn: would you tell us something about the importance of symbols and reminders to the dream-like dimension in your imagery? I am desperately searching for the best way to express my fantasy world to everyone who’s following my creative way. It’s not that much about the different styles, but the whole world of my inner life. Try to imagine a map of a fantasy world: on the North you’ll find a See of Beasts, on the South - walk into a magic garden, full of blossoms. If you are brave enough to step into a forest of symbols and abstract meaning, you’ll find another side of being alive in this world. You are a versatile artist and you practice involves lots of mediums, including canvas and paper, using acrylics, watercolor, gouache, oil paint, many types of pastels and color pencils: what does attract you of such a wide variey of mediums? And how do you select a particular medium in order to create your works? Like every other progress, painting for me is a continuous self-educational process. I’m steadily trying to research and create new medium combinations, new textures and visual effects. And just because I’m a huge fan of any artist supply - while traveling, I’m always bringing home new materials or find some new brands to try. As an artist, I also want to support unknown brands - nowadays it’s hard time for small companies to survive. As for choosing a particular medium for a new work - I’m starting usually with sketching with a very soft pencil or charcoal, or a light underpaint. When the voice of the work getting louder, it’s usually self-evident, what should I use. Lately I worked a lot with acrylic paints, as I paint very impulsive and it dries quickly, which gives me an opportunity to paint fast and use many layers. I am also a really fast painter. We have appreciated the originality 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, Anna. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Thank you too, it’s been an unforgettable experience - every talk or interview helps me as an artist to understand my style and working process better - and in future get it more efficient and inspiring for other, I hope. Currently I’m working on a series of paintings inspired by Swiss Alps and trying to find a perfect combination of styles - not too realistic, not too abstract. It’s an interesting challenge and three of smaller paintings are already done. I’m also thinking of a new art book project for 2019 - it helps to stay fit creatively and is a wonderful way to keep all the ideas at one place. An interview by , curator and curator Anna Tereshina ART Habens