![[Valid RSS]](valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
« The Jail Gallery: HEF | Main | RIOT SHOW »
Spraygraphic Interview with Artist Zhenya Gershman
By Spraygraphic | March 28, 2008
Spraygraphic Interview with ZHENYA GERSHMAN
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
ZG: I was born in a country that no longer exists – USSR. My parents and I came to America when I was 15 years old. I feel as if I lived two lives. I don’t really feel at home in either place, but I think it’s normal since most artists are nomads.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
ZG: I live with my husband and daughter in Santa Monica, California and work from my studio in Venice Beach.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
ZG: I consider myself an artistic dinosaur since I work with a stick with hair attached to it and a piece of stretched cloth and pigment mixed with oil. Oil paint is my passion. I loved it from the first time I tried it when I was 14 years old. It is addictive to watch the magic of this viscous pungent medium becoming flesh, metal, glass, you name it, as you work it onto a canvas. It is this moment of transformation that married me to this medium.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
ZG: I always work from live models. The work is a result of communication that happens in the process of painting. I do not understand why anyone would ask a model to sit quietly and not talk. I once told my friend who posed for me that they are responsible for half the work. Their answer was: “Only?” In this process you end up sharing a lot of private stories that you would never tell your best friend. I believe this level of intimacy becomes visible in the portrait.
I never draw first. I go straight to ‘drawing’ with paint. I feel that the fleeting moment of the connection that you establish with your subject can only be captured without being predetermined by studious sketches and planning. This is the hardest way to work because of the so many things that can go wrong with proportion, composition, palette, and yet the most rewarding for me for its element of surprise.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
ZG: The only way to create is to create. This is something my mother taught me when I was still a teenager. She said that only amateurs enjoy painting. The true art is hard and even tortuous. It is only through work that one finds inspiration, so I have to be very disciplined. Sometimes I dread going to my studio. There is the looming question - why am I making another painting, when so many amazing works have already been created? Then there is another fear – of not making the work as good as the one from yesterday, of repeating. You push yourself, and move the brush back and forth, and then something happens, where you are no longer working, but watching life taking shape underneath your fingers. Those moments are so rare and far between, and it is so painful to wait for them, and yet is what I think defines making art.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
ZG: It took me 9 months to create my last work of art – my daughter Nikka was born last December. I have not been to my studio since. During my pregnancy, it was my first time in my life where I lost the desire to paint, and it is only now that I am starting to have flashes of images again. I am due to return to my studio any day now, and I truly believe that my work will never be the same after bringing life into the world. I expect I’ll be painting my daughter a lot, after all she is a free model!
SG: Can you please tell us about your work relationship with J Paul Getty Museum and how that relationship started and has developed.
ZG: After I graduated from Art Center, my dilemma was how do I make paintings not motivated by commercial interests and yet can afford a large studio with live models. I wanted to find a job that was not draining my creative energy, instead was complimentary and even inspirational. This is when I decided to call the Getty museum. In fact it was good timing when a teaching position was opened in the education department. I had to sort of “audition” in front of a very intimidating crowd of Getty teaching faculty. I chose to present on Rembrandt’s portrait of Saint Bartholomew – his late and very moving work. I was excited to have been selected for this job. I couldn’t believe that I’ll be able to have Rembrandt to myself. I can stand in the galleries before the visitors arrive and have a conversation with any work in the museum. It has been such an amazing experience that I now catch myself telling my friends “did you know we just purchased a new work of art?” I really feel a sense of closeness to the old masters that I could never have had otherwise. It has now been almost seven years. My job has evolved, and I now specialize in overseeing adult gallery programs, which includes courses, curator talks, educational collaborations with other institutions, and other projects. I still teach in the galleries and I feel that it is another way of making art. Every time you present a painting to an audience, depending on what you say, or a kind of experience you create, they will see the work of art in a different way.
SG: Can you please tell us little about your work: Apostles.
ZG: My last big body of work was the 12 apostles. It actually did take me 9 months to finish this project. I usually don’t paint thematically, instead I group my paintings and try to see the connections that occur organically. This time it was a new type of experience for me – I set out to make these 12 paintings from the start. In retrospect I think my inspiration came from my Russian background. In Moscow I saw a lot of incredible icons in churches growing up and religious subjects always seemed at the core of art making. I think it is important that I note that I don’t practice any religions, but I feel a particular affinity with Judeo-Christian subject matter. I think that art makes religion universal. I truly felt that when I was in Italy and saw Caravaggio in a Church instead of a museum. I saw an old woman kneeling in front of his painting and lighting a candle in prayer, and I felt like doing the same, but for probably a different reason. We were sharing the religious and artistic space in one point in time. Who were we praying to, God, artist, or both?? My 12 apostles are loosely based on Biblical narrative; I aim for these paintings to ask the “big” questions about our human presence: who are we, where do we come from and where are we going? I was attracted to the idea of an Apostle – who is a teacher and a student, a raw model and a martyr, a superman and a mortal, a man of the past and the present, a historical figure and an individual. To me these men of power represent a convergence of the old and new worlds of thought. These twelve paintings are of an unusual format 82X16”. United by this elongated dimension, the canvases in and of themselves speak of human presence by their exaggerated verticality. While each contains a unique body language, when seen together, the paintings seem to begin a conversation with each other.
SG: Many of the subjects in your paintings are nudes. What has drawn you to painting nudes?
ZG: The human body is as expressive and sometimes even more than the face. To paint a portrait one has to paint the whole. It is amazing to me what a taboo nudity is still today in art. The term ‘nude’ itself points to it. It has its roots in the 19th century, as it was used to defend the portrayal of the human body in art. To say ‘nude’ was to differentiate art from pornography, and it went with certain expectations, accepted poses, subjects, and even paint finish. As a result, the nudes may as well have been dressed. In response, I’ve titled one of my shows ‘Naked’. I want everything about my art to be honest, without cover up. The models in my paintings are very comfortable with their bodies, and as a result reverse the roles and make the viewer feel more vulnerable. Also, there has been a taboo on male nudity since the medieval ages. I think it is time to break it.
SG: How has your work experience at museums influenced your art work? Does art history and the knowledge of particular exhibit influence your art work in any way?
ZG: I grew up in museums. The first game I remember my mother used to play with me was looking at art books and covering up the titles and making me guess the artist and the name of the painting. So art history was a way of life. For me, making art is definitely a way of conversation with the past that can break temporal boundaries. I still delight in catching references in great artists work to each other. They engage in a game not so different to the one I used to play with my mother.
SG: Where has your work been seen?
ZG: I was lucky to have my first show when I was 14 in St. Petersburg. Since then I have had exhibits both in Moscow and in Los Angeles. I usually have one solo show per year and participate in some other group shows. I was represented by the Jan Baum Gallery, one of the oldest galleries in Los Angeles. Jan has just retired as of 2008, so I am looking for a new home.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
ZG: I hope to show my 12 apostles in the upcoming year. I am currently in correspondence with a gallery. I will update my website when I have the exact dates and location.
SG: Some of your earlier shows were in Russia. Do you see your work returning to Russia in the future?
ZG: Yes, perhaps when Putin steps down from power, which is probably not going to occur during our lifetimes.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
ZG: My dream is to have a commission for a church.
SG: What is your favorite color?
ZG: Black. One: because it is technically not considered a color, and yet in order to mix a rich black you have to mix all colors. So it’s nothing and everything at the same time. Two: I heard an anecdote years ago that Van Gogh thought that oil paint was delicious, and decided to taste it. He thought that black was the tastiest. Three: It looks great!
SG: Who is your favorite artist, and why?
ZG: Rembrandt. If you stand at the Getty in the Rembrandt gallery and look at his four paintings that he made during different periods of his life, you can never tell that the same artist made them. He explores the paint potential in each one, never settling for one trick that works. He seems to have been a true magician of light. If you tried to follow the light logic in his work, you become dizzy. Beyond that, he manages to push his art practice past the limits of his own time. His work looks so contemporary. Sometimes I wonder if a curator made a mistake and if these paintings should be hanging in a modern museum. Rembrandt was simply ahead of his time by at least 300 years.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
ZG: Besides “What to expect during the first year of your child”, I have returned to re-reading the Russian Classics. I am now immersed in “War and Peace”, which is very time-appropriate once again.
SG: Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?
ZG: I actually learned how to paint by doing self-portraits. It is very frustrating, especially if you are doing a nude, since you get covered up with oil paint. Most of them ended up in my parents’ private collection.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
ZG: Who has time?
Additional Links:
Zhenya Gershman gives a tour of religious icons at the Getty Center, aired on television 4/30/07
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/svgcWKClosM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Art Tribe, a website where you can purchase Zhenya’s work.
ART: 1. 12 Apostles, 2. Apostle I (detail), 3. Clay, 4. Clay drawing, 5. Louise, 6. Marks, 7. Messenger, 8. Still, 9. Zhenya in front of her artwork, 10. Zhenya
Topics: Artist Interviews, International-Art, Paintings, Women Art |
March 27th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
That is some truly awesome work. I’m glad to see the usage of male nude models in her work, it’s nice to move beyond just the female figure and to highlight the sensuousness of the male form as well. Great interview, too, enjoyable read.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:35 pm
As Always She has shown how true and sensitive artist she is. Wonderful work, incredible colors, and really amazing depth. Congraltulatios Zhenya……
April 1st, 2008 at 8:35 am
What a marvelous set of paintings! Zhenya’s work is remarkable in that she is able to combine an exciting intensity along with a perceptive sensitivity in portraying her subjects. Color and form are lively, rich and sophisticated. Her work is contemporary but also evocative of early periods in twentieth century oil painting. Congratulations!
April 1st, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Hats off Zhenya! It’s refreshing to see such original work combined with your thoughtful, spirited comments, rather than anything predictable or derivative. Plus you love it so deeply; it’s contagious. Congratulations.
October 5th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Zhenya, ya got me all chocked up…