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Inara Petrusevich: – If you want to ask me \u201chow do you do\u201d, I can answer right away in the words of my son when he was only four: \u201cWhy ask me \u201chow do you do\u201d? I know perfectly well that I\u2019m fine. So please don\u2019t ask me.\u201d (laughs) He\u2019s all grown up now, but I still remember it and agree with all my heart (smiles).<\/p>\n
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Rothko Centre: – OK, we\u2019ve cleared up the essentials, now just to go over the details that define \u201cdoing fine\u201d.<\/p>\n
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IP: – I\u2019m an open book. I don\u2019t know how to hide or keep things to myself, so I\u2019m bound to spill all the beans (smiles).<\/p>\n
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RC: Do you prefer working alone or do you need company?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: It depends. I\u2019ve been to plein airs with several artists sharing a workroom. Then you know that you\u2019re given two metres, and that\u2019s your entire workspace. Now, if I\u2019m distracted at home, that\u2019s a different matter. On my own grounds, I prefer to play by my rules. Here, rather than dodging irritants, you must stay away from seducers (laughs). I love company, and I adore exciting adventures. Going places \u2013 when I\u2019m invited to come along and see this beautiful lake or a forest\u2026 That\u2019s when my inner voice pipes up, saying: \u201cThat\u2019s alright, I\u2019ll get things done! I\u2019ll get back, and I\u2019ll have four whole hours to paint!\u201d But in real life, when I get home, I\u2019m so knackered I just put things off for tomorrow (laughs). But then the next day, it\u2019s strictly work and no distraction. I ignore phone calls and refuse all offers\u2026 There\u2019s a firm schedule, and I keep to it without jumping to and fro.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Are you a process- or results-oriented person?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: And what about a commercial streak, do you have it?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: <\/strong>\u00a0No, I\u2019m a creator. If I were commercial, I\u2019d be more careful about keeping my work, more responsible when it comes to structure. I\u2019d have started to work for profit some twenty-odd years ago. I\u2019d have saved loads of my paintings and shown them in a grand museum to make some good sales. But, no, I just kept creating, and my work kept trickling away almost without my noticing. Of course, I had financial perks, occasionally some really great ones, and they did feel nice. But it was never a plan.<\/p>\n Or there was this time when I took part in a Marc Chagall plein air in Vitebsk and got one of the prizes, this lovely statuette. I can\u2019t deny it was delightful.<\/p>\n To really put yourself out there, you need connections. It\u2019s a web you need to weave, and you must know how to spread it, estimate the potential size of \u201cprey\u201d. At the same time, I think no artist should go hungry and live forgotten, starved of the bare essentials. Because then it\u2019s hard to be creative and stay in good spirits. Such is my personal opinion because my concept is downright simple: I want people to live with my art. Be it a postcard, a handbag, a T-shirt with my print or a painting. Is there another way? I\u2019m not sure there is. After all, if you\u2019re having a bad day, you can\u2019t just sit and wait for it to end, right? You\u2019ll will it to go away, won\u2019t you? In any case, I\u2019m sure we\u2019re all looking forward to some positive emotions, right? Certainly, nobody wants pain and suffering to go on forever. So, I say, the only type of hungry there should be is information-hungry. Hungry for new experiences, new personal discoveries that make you go, \u201coh, there\u2019s so much more I can do!\u201d Hunger to learn, that\u2019s my thing. This type of hunger is cool.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: <\/strong>Do <\/strong>you <\/strong>have <\/strong>a <\/strong>favourite <\/strong>topic?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: No, I don\u2019t have a pattern. I don\u2019t churn out stuff in a single theme. I mean, I\u2019ll have different mental states and different topics. Once when I was making my solo exhibitions in Denmark, a gallerist told me: \u201cInara, I sometimes think your exhibitions are made by entirely different artists. They\u2019re so unlike!\u201d But that\u2019s just the point! That\u2019s exactly what I want. I don\u2019t want to feel bored. So I can\u2019t imagine myself in just one theme or direction. Sure, there\u2019s a risk. If you follow a straight line, it\u2019s all pretty clear, and if things go well, why change them? Why look for something else? In my case, there\u2019s always a risk \u2013 will it work out or not?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Aren\u2019t you afraid your fountain of themes will dry up? That your bank of ideas will get empty?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: I haven\u2019t thought of it like that\u2026 I guess only if I switch to something completely different (gets pensive).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Then maybe don\u2019t?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Right now, I don\u2019t plan to (laughs).<\/p>\n RC: Are <\/strong>you <\/strong>a <\/strong>risk-<\/strong>taker <\/strong>up <\/strong>for <\/strong>a <\/strong>challenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Yes, that\u2019s me alright (laughs). The way I spent last winter is a good case in point. You see, last autumn, I went away, presumably just for a while, but I ended up staying till spring. I met a wonderful man, and as we were chatting, I thought why not go away for a few months, go to Austria and see the mountains. And then everything got closed off, and I had to decide if it was worth the effort, jetting to and fro. So I stayed the entire winter. Josef is a novice photographer who\u2019s just making his first steps, and I thought I\u2019d support and inspire him. We ended up holding a joint exhibition!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Did you miss home?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: No, I didn\u2019t. Because the mountains crashed over me (laughs). It was something magnetic\u2026 We lived way up in the mountains, and to wake up in the morning to those vistas\u2026 Here, in Daugavpils, I\u2019m used to my street, the view from my window, the city. And I really love it! But I wanted fresh impressions. Besides, out there, I was heating the place with wood \u2013 just like back home. That was one of the many tiny threads that kept me connected with my flat and my studio (smiles).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Apparently, that\u2019s what every artist needs \u2013 a change of scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Yes, we all need that! To break free from what you\u2019re used to and experience something new. I think if people truly want change, they will make it happen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: No traveller comes home their old self. How did you change after such a long time away?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP:<\/strong> I\u2019ve gained extra courage and confidence. I mean, I couldn\u2019t have imagined I\u2019d ever curate an exhibition! It\u2019s only now that I understand what it really takes to put together a show. To consider the layout, the partitions and the lighting. How to highlight the photographer rather than hog all attention, how to enhance his contribution. Because I\u2019m good as it is, I\u2019m self-sufficient, I can be the backdrop for his work. After all, that\u2019s his first-ever show, his debut. And he felt so shy to put himself forward in this new capacity. My goal was to have people linger at the show rather than just walk through the setup and be gone before you really know it. I thought very carefully about the placing of every chair in front of the photographs, every detail to hook our guests\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n Local artists were sceptical \u2013 now\u2019s not the time, no one will come\u2026 no-no, not right now\u2026 And I said we go for it and lead the way! Even if ten people should come. We\u2019d planned three hours for the opening but ended up staying three times that. Because people kept coming, so we couldn\u2019t just up and leave. We called our exhibition SCHRITT FUR SCHRITT (STEP BY STEP). At that point, I\u2019d already been to the mountains and experienced the sheer pleasure of wading through snowdrifts \u2013 when your boots get heavier with every step, but you keep going. And you feel such a thrill, such tremendous joy, such a sense of gratitude for the hard climb. I guess that\u2019s what suggested the title.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: And how did you find the result? What was the aftertaste?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: We took everyone by surprise! He\u2019s a sound engineer by profession. Photography\u2019s just his hobby. We both felt proud and contented (smiles).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: You seem such a cheerful and open person who attracts like-minded people.<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Yes, we\u2019ve always had a houseful of guests. I love company.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: All a creative bunch?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Mainly artists and my Buddhist friends.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: How does the Buddhist philosophy affect your creativity and your life as a whole?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: It\u2019s a worldview that you can test through your own experience. A teaching about the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. We\u2019re all interconnected. After all, what we perceive and how we do it depends on our state of mind. Buddhism is a school of thought about the true order of things. A state of mind that leads you to the better version of yourself not just for your own sake but for the good of all Life. And the best part is that you can be a student all your life. There\u2019s no end to self-perfection. We are all learning to reach a state of no hardship or pain and stay there forever. A state of ultimate joy with no suffering.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: <\/strong>Your <\/strong>paintings <\/strong>and <\/strong>drawings, <\/strong>do they represent <\/strong>a fictional <\/strong>world?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: No, they don\u2019t, can you believe it? They\u2019re all related to my personal anecdotes and those of my friends. Each image represents a specific person. And you\u2019d be surprised to learn who the prototypes were for some of my pictures! But I won\u2019t tell you (laughs). For instance, this drawing of chickens (\u201cDate\u201d), it\u2019s not an impression of actual chickens I saw. No, it\u2019s a pair of my human acquaintances. And these people know I\u2019ve drawn them. But we agree to keep it our secret (laughs).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: <\/strong>How did you develop your signature style, the style of Inara Petrusevich?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: I\u2019m not sure\u2026 So hard to explain. It\u2019s an inherent trait, almost like a gait. I guess I was born with it. I sketched more or less constantly as a child \u2013 in kindergarten and throughout the school. That\u2019s when my art teacher noticed me and suggested I attend an adult studio (in the Chemical District of Daugavpils \u2013 ed. note). Ludmila Procenko taught there. I came to a group of adults who already knew what they wanted to do in life. But I was a complete neophyte, and my first piece was called \u201cFountain\u201d, after the one in Dubrovin Park. The picture had so many things going on there because I wanted to show everything \u2013 the water splashes, the sky and the depth. That\u2019s when things took off in earnest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: <\/strong>What do you prefer as your subject, people or inanimate things?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: The inanimates\u2026 (gets pensive). Up there, in the mountains, I can\u2019t say I painted inanimate things. I transformed the mountain imagery, giving it a personal twist. One might say I painted the mountains that look at you, not the mountains you look at.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: <\/strong>Can you name a few artists who\u2019ve impressed and inspired you?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: That would be illustrators. I\u2019m always told I should move to graphics. And now, as I skim over my work from different periods, I see it\u2019s not that far off the mark of real graphic artists. And that\u2019s something I\u2019ve always been good at. My recent personal discovery is artist Viktoria Semkina. In spirit, we\u2019re so alike, and I just love her improvisation and spontaneity combined, perhaps counterintuitively, with such careful and thought-out detailing! \u00a0I love the Canadian Inuit artists. David Hockney, the Englishman, now in his golden years but soooo bright when it comes to palette! Quentin Blake, the illustrator. From hereabouts, I\u2019d say illustrator Nele Zirn\u012bte. Dashi Namdakov. Kenojuak Ashevak from Canada. Such a cocktail! (laughs)<\/p>\n Seeing Gustav Klimt in Vienna was cathartic\u2026 When you see his work digitally or in books, you don\u2019t get all the rage. His work is almost breathing! It\u2019s translucent, not as dense as I thought before I\u2019d experienced the originals. The delicate layering, the softness of his brush touching the canvas when he was painting women. These pictures are over a hundred years old, but they seem almost alive and talking\u2026\u00a0 Sometimes paintings carry visible traces of the passage of time, but his work does not. As to Egon Schiele, I pored over his canvas from twenty-odd centimetres away. It was breathtaking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Would you like to illustrate a book? Which one would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Maybe I would. But it would be my own story, something I\u2019d have written. Still, to do it, you need time to get fully immersed in the process. I love visiting bookshops, and I always go to the children\u2019s section to see the work of children\u2019s book illustrators. They specialise in different age groups \u2013 under three, under seven, etc. I\u2019m drawn to those who draw for older children, almost teenagers. By the way, I\u2019ve a good deal of drawings on scraps of paper that no one has ever seen (smiles).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: So maybe you\u2019ll breathe some life into them?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: <\/strong>\u00a0Yes, some drawings are lucky \u2013 they get a new life as murals. Now and then, I\u2019m approached by companies and businesses. As it happens, I\u2019ve just finished decorating a garage office, and it was such a blast. The people there are amazing, not your run-of-the-mill mechanics. They trusted me completely and agreed to everything I proposed (laughs). It\u2019s such a thrill when your drawings end up on a wall to live on in a new format. And get seen by so many people!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Inara, you have a number of students. Can you spot talent right away?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: I can. And it\u2019s crucial not to smother it. A student\u2019s parents have thanked me for advising them not to teach the girl new things but nurture her own imagination and skill. Not to erase what she already has and cover it up with something else. Because I was so excited to extract what she already has! The authenticity and power of her talent. Her parents thanked me for persuading them to let the girl explore her gift. If her mum wouldn\u2019t have heard me, I\u2019m not sure that her parents\u2019 initiatives wouldn\u2019t have snuffed the little flame. But her pictures are so cool! For a girl who\u2019s never been to a world-class contemporary gallery to draw with such a modern twist is incredible.<\/p>\n Actually, in my masterclasses, what I share with my students are the things that I love. There was this time when my friend said \u2013 oh, you\u2019re so good with children \u2013 and offered me hers for a practice run. That\u2019s how it all started, and now, many years on, I keep going. I love giving away and sharing everything I can do.<\/p>\n Some of my students are slow bloomers. They open up in the atmosphere of my studio \u2013 that\u2019s where they feel at home and can learn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: <\/strong>And who was the one to see the flame of talent in you?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: The groundwork was laid by Grigory Mikheev. We talked a lot, we\u2019d spread my drawings on the floor, and I\u2019d hear his feedback. Sure, he could be strict, but everything he said was always so on-point and constructive that there was no way I could feel hurt. I was never offended. He said we were colleagues, and I felt all grown up and important.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n -RC: And what about now, do you get any criticism now that you\u2019re Master? Does anyone dare?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: My brother (laughs). No, indeed! He\u2019ll always find ways to improve a picture. I say, wait, it\u2019s not finished! And turn it away. I guess it\u2019s because he\u2019s so bright and clever. Maybe that\u2019s what makes him so confident he\u2019s also an expert of the arts (laughs).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n -RC: A day in the life of a creator. What\u2019s it like?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: First, there should always be something sweet to snack on (laughs). After all, it\u2019s such an active mental process, very energy-intensive, so I need it. Let\u2019s say, to get into the mood of things. And I never work in the mornings. Until one p.m., I\u2019ll just potter around, think about stuff or read a bit, and then I\u2019ll shut myself away until evening. You know, I can work for five hours straight! Or literally live in my studio for two or three days if I\u2019m caught by an idea. But one thing\u2019s certain \u2013 I\u2019ll always find time for a walk. In the city or in the woods. Or the way we did it in the Austrian mountains \u2013 at night, with a flashlight. I\u2019m a great walker. For me, fresh air is a must.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: The Danish gallery. It\u2019s been such a long cooperation, but how did it all start?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Some ceramicists from Haderslav came here. I met them and jumped right in with a straightforward question \u2013 how do you make an exhibition in Denmark? They saw my work, appreciated it, and, I won\u2019t deny, it felt great to have Western artists notice me because back then, in their eyes, we were still pretty much a Post-Soviet zone. In the end, a group of local artists, me included, offered ourselves to the Danish gallery, but they discussed the matter, and I was the only one to be chosen. They took two works for a start, just to see how they looked in real life. Turned out they loved the effect and offered me a solo show straight away. And it was a success! It was clear that the Danish public was intrigued, and my work started selling. And so we keep going, 25 years and running.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: Do you have some abstract works besides illustrations?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: Yes, lately I do. Last summer, I returned to abstraction. For me, it has a magical quality, almost as if you were painting music. Your head is all light and airy, and you play around with colour\u2026 as though writing music on a canvas.<\/p>\n The two pieces now on show in \u201cLegalised Fantasies\u201d (an exhibition at the Rothko Centre \u2013 ed. note) were painted after my trip to Venice. The entire thing was something of a windfall. These colours capture my impressions from Venetian swelter.<\/p>\n Rather than working from a theme or a mood, I always choose a colour to fit the moment. Maybe the next day I\u2019ll come to the picture and decide that what I had picked needs changing. These two from Venice were made in a single day, almost in one go. They were perfectly finished, and I didn\u2019t want to correct anything or even touch them.<\/p>\n For all that, things don\u2019t always go as smoothly. I\u2019ve a picture that can\u2019t get finished for 14 years \u2013 a perfect frame and canvas, but it just sits there for years and years and seems to be stuck. I guess it still waits for its golden hour (laughs).<\/p>\n In general, I\u2019m always excited to hear people comment on my work. The stories they tell can be quite surprising. It\u2019s almost like a peek into my subconscious. So when that happens, I\u2019m all ears.<\/p>\n Things are pretty much clear with the drawings. But in complex paintings and abstractions, I\u2019ve no control of my hand or brush. This is precisely why other people\u2019s opinions are so fascinating.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n RC: <\/strong>May <\/strong>I <\/strong>ask <\/strong>about <\/strong>your <\/strong>plans?<\/strong><\/p>\n IP: No, you may not! (laughs) As far as I\u2019ve noticed, no sooner I start talking about plans, it\u2019s as though a floodgate opens and sweeps everything away. I spill my precious energy, and it\u2019s just gone. Enough to say that I do have plans, and that\u2019s what matters.<\/p>\n