Natalia Intezarova – Exclusive Interview
Biography
Natalia possesses a refined and flexible creative awareness and a highly developed imagination, seeped in culture, which creates manifold, and at times parallel, artistic universes. There is a visionary side to her creative thinking and a vast range of inner life is portrayed in her painting. Many of her works are stylistically akin to Art Brut or Naïf Art, Pop Art and the conceptual-structural art of Postmodernism. After graduating from the Moscow State University V.I.Surikov Natalia became a member of the Moscow Union of Artists and has since participated in many Russian and international exhibitions. In 1995 Natalia was awarded a Diploma by the Russian Academy of Arts for her series of paintings “Impressions”. Her paintings are in museums and private collections in Russia, Germany, Italy, Great Britain France and the USA.
Do you remember how your personal journey with art began?
My personal journey with art began when I was five years old. I was painting a still life of a vase with fruit which my father asked me to paint.
What motivates you the most to create your paintings?
The idea of sharing what is important for me with others.
How do you perceive your creative identity?
The Cosmos is in me and I am in the Cosmos, delighted by its continuous movement.
Who or what inspires your artwork?
The world around me.
Do you experiment often when creating your artwork, if so how?
Every time before creating a new work I sketch the idea in different ways.
Tell us your thought process when painting, is it spontaneous or do you have any regulations?
The ideas come spontaneously, but later I act in accordance with regulations and knowledge.
What’s the key idea that helps you decide the colour and how do you curate your compositional solutions?
The decision about the colour comes from my impression of life. Having done many preliminary sketches, from them I select the one that reflects my idea most accurately and precisely.
How do you know when a painting is complete and when its time to stop adding more to the painting?
There is a moment when adding something starts to make the painting worse, but it does not always mean that with time it is not possible to come back to that painting.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
A clear composition and a harmony of colours.
How do you think you’ve grown from your last exhibition to your most recent?
I started exhibiting more significant and more serious works.
How do you choose the subject of your paintings, what is your favourite subject to paint?
Observing life and reflecting on it inspires me to paint.
Having to move from Moscow to London, to Valenza altered your style?
It is not moving that changed my style, but a continuous creative search. Of course, visiting exhibitions of other artists and participating in them is always enriching the experience.
Why did you choose oil paintings? Are there any other mediums you are interested to use?
I am interested in different mediums. Currently, oil paintings are most suitable to express my creative thoughts. However, I have some ideas about using different mediums.
What is the proudest piece of work and what piece has brought you the most success?
Perhaps it is not one work, but there is a series of more successful works. For example, “Impression”, “The Night Tram”, “The Geometry of Stairwells”, “The Essence of the Soul” and “Spring Transformations 1”. Also, “The Tunnel” was highly valued at my latest exhibition.
How did you develop your style of painting?
I developed my style of painting through continuous work and improvement.
Do you think your work is unique to other painters?
Yes, in a certain way, it is unique.
What does art mean for you?
Art is a wide concept of life. Art is what amazes and inspires us.
Can we expect any upcoming projects from you?
Yes, I’m currently working with the theme of Cosmos and Infinity.
Interview by Kamila Krzyzaniak
www.nataliaintezarova.com
