Dear Natalia, thank you for making time for an interview with us! We’re happy to welcome you to HAZE Gallery. Tell us, please, about yourself and your art.
Thank you so much for welcoming me to your beautiful gallery. I am an artist who trained as an Industrial designer and art historian. I’ve been a member of the Union of Artists of Russia since 2013. I recently completed a doctorate in contemporary Japanese art, a subject that I am deeply passionate about. I work in the neo-pop art style, and my paintings are digitally created and also present in NFT-art format. I mostly paint portraits of people and am particularly interested in the image of women and their search for identity.
You graduated from the Faculty of Industrial Design at the Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Design and Applied Arts. At what point did you realize that you wanted to do graphics and not industrial design?
I decided to combine graphic and object design in a single activity, and I began to create fashion accessories and my own brand of accessories. After graduating from the postgraduate program where I was immersed in research of contemporary Japanese art, I understood clearly my calling for towards pure creativity and began to create paintings.
Your choice of creative profession seems quite natural. Did you always know that you wanted to be an artist?
I was born into a family of artists, and since childhood, I was immersed in the world of art. I was surrounded by books on paintings, reproductions of great masters, and the work of my parents, grandfather, uncle, and other relatives. My admission to the University of Arts seemed like destiny. Initially, I was excited to design objects and fashion, but as I now realize my full ambitions as an artist and painter, I am inspired by the broad range of experiences and training that I’ve received.
Surely belonging to a creative dynasty imposes a certain moral responsibility on you? Were you afraid of letting your family down, getting lost in their environment, not matching them?
This is a fairly common problem in such families. I am a very demanding person and very ambitious. It's hard for me to satisfy myself with the result. This applies to all areas of my life. it's hard to live with that quality, but it moves me towards achieving new goals.
You are the author of a dissertation on " The Creativity of the artist Takashi Murakami and contemporary art of Japan in the 1990s-2010s.", as well as the author of a number of scientific articles on contemporary Japanese art. Why are you so interested in Japanese art?
As a teenager, I worked as a model in Europe and Japan. I happened to live in Japan and immerse myself in this unusual world for a European perception. That’s when this love began. I really like contemporary Japanese pop culture. Amine, manga, and J-Rock. I love this freedom and informality—neon signs on the streets of Tokyo. The principles of Japanese art are very close to me: flatness, linearity and decorativeness, and two-dimensionality. I adhere to the same principles in my art.
Your heroines are women who have lost their individuality and found it in merging with nature. Why did you choose exactly women as the subject of your work? In your opinion, what is the role of women in modern society?
This is a very important question for me, I am a woman, and I understand the difficulties that women can face in the modern world. Many aspects of life still feel patriarchal and rigid, where a woman still cannot find their true strength. In Russia, unfortunately, society is very archaic and lives with stereotypes, driving the role of women into a flawed limited framework. It is difficult for a free person to measure up with these and be happy. I think the role of a woman, as well as the role of a man, is individual. Each person has the right to determine it himself, without relying on social prejudices. The utopian promise of the technology era already seems disfigured and to have created new digital cages and stereotypes for the woman to overcome. Despite the pessimism, I believe in a positive result and my art depicts a painful journey that ultimately results in fulfillment.
There is a certain style in your work. How did you come to realize it? How would you describe it?
My work is in the Neo-pop art style, and I adhere to certain principles: flatness, linearity and decorativeness, and two-dimensionality. Colour is very important to me; its intensity determines the kind of emotion.
How can an aspiring artist find their own style?
It's very difficult to find your own style being part of a classical academic academy. It’s probably easier to do this by experimenting and searching for new forms and expressions. But studying art history and understanding current practices are very useful tools. It is important to understand that the artist is not in a vacuum - he is part of the matrix.
In 2012, you became the founder of the company "Ayano Design", which produces fashion accessories and clothing. Tell us a little about this project.
I started with creating patterns, and then I found the perfect medium for these on silk scarves. I created my first collection of silk scarves with different designs. I found a wonderful producer for these in China and sold these in limited runs in Moscow, London, and Ibiza. After that, I began to make rings from porcelain and leather bags with my graphic prints. Then I created a trial collection of dresses and winter hats. The rest of the accessories were produced in Russia. I think it was an interesting project and a challenging experience and taught me a lot about the marketing and commercial side of creativity.
Since 2019, you have immersed yourself as much as possible in pure creativity and artistic activity. Before that, you participated in scientific conferences; your articles were published in scientific journals. Why did you decide to stop doing the academic activity, and will your activity return to it in the future? Do you think that creativity and scientific activity are compatible things for an artist?
I do not think that I will completely move away from the academic field. I will periodically write materials and possibly participate in Conferences. I still have to defend my thesis soon. I believe this is a very interesting combination, science, and art. For me, it is the power of awareness.
Who influenced your work the most? Can you list your favorite artists?
I am inspired by contemporary Japanese artists such as Takashi Murakami, Takato Yamamoto, Chiho Aishima, Kazuki Umezawa, Tanaami Keiichi. Chinese artist Jacky Tsai.
Also adore the old masters, different eras and trends in art: Claude Monet, Egon Schiele, Albrecht Dürer, Vincent Willem Van Gogh, Pieter Bruegel de Oude.
What is success for you? What is the final station of your creativity, or does it not exist at all?
Success is a recognizable formed style (method) of the artist. And it’s global recognition; I think recognition and success is a very correct and necessary link in the career of a creative person. But it is important that it be combined with true creativity and your own individual path. I want to be part of the artistic world, to become a recognizable figure. To be able to grow and develop. Recognition and success - inspire and give strength to the next step.
Instagram @natashalopatnikova.art
Text by Lyubov Melnickowa @lumenicka