Summer.

During the summer i have had some events that get me back into work quite nicely.

Just after our summer show at chelsea i have taken part in a show in Barcelona, called the Barcelona showcase. It was great fun to get to install the work and chat to other young, and not so young artists from different parts of the world. The downside to this was the curating of the show as it was not too much of it - the organisers of the event just gave you a stand where you were supposed to put your work, and, sadly, this way the show looked like many small shows instead of being a whole thing.
On the photograph you can see me standing next to my stand with my work.

After that i have visited Russia, which i always do for holidays, where my grandmother gave ma a book of russian poetry to read, which is now my main idea for making work ( this i will discuss in the next posts). And overall, i like coming back to russia as connecting with your roots always gives you inspiration and helps you understand yourself better.

Then, i had a trip to california, where i have visited some great contemporary art museums such as:

LACMA (Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art).

 This museum has a great collection of different classical artists : Kandinsky, Warhol, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso, Giacometti, and Rothko. I always enjoy seeing this kind of art its always very powerful and leaves you with a grand impression. From the artists at the gallery, i have to say that it was Kandinsky. I adore his work because of its colours - they are stunning one by one, the come so nicely together and almost every piece of work of his has this sort of dream like feeling to it, as if you could have seen what he ment in the picture, but his thoughts have only stayed on a canvas for a bit and now you can only see a hint of them, maybe a trace... (the photograph was taken at the museum)

MOCA (Museum Of Contemporary Art).

This museum has a collection of art from more contemporary artists, the work of which i found very strange but nevertheless very interesting as these artists are closer to me in time and the work that they made is more contemporary then Kandinsky, so it is more of a reaction on the society nowadays, which, to me, is a little bit more interesting then what it was before. This is so mainly because what has happened, has happened already, you cannot change or invent something, but if it is at this moment, by reacting to it you may happen to lead somewhere. (photographs from the museum)

And The Getty museum.

This museum has a collection of very classical art, furniture and china mainly before contemporary. Very classical art at its best - beautiful portrait, landscapes and natures morts. I always enjoy these museums as they have a feeling of history in them, especially the furniture and china - you can almost see the way people used to sit on it or drink from it, these things were then something ordinary and now, because of their age and history are considered art. It is very interesting how things become art with age, it is almost like they gain their wisdom over the years and then share it with the viewer...

If speaking about the art collection there, then my favourite 2 works will be from Van Gogh and Degas. Both of them so different - one is very bold, bright and quite rigid as an image and the other one - very gentle, soft coloured and airy.

I like the work by Van Gogh of its truly amazing colours and unique technique of painting of his, you can never mistake his work with someone else's and it always leaves you with a happy impression. When the work by Degas, although it has very distinctive features too and it also cannot be mistaken with elses, it leaves you with a feeling of dream, nostalgia, these images do not feel stationary, they are like dreams slowly floating leaving you content but wondering...

After going to The States i have travelled to Costa Rica, where i had my idea for the first piece of the year, the one i have decided to put in the show. (this i will discuss in later posts)

I have also been to Japan where i saw a show by young japanese artists, which was different as it had a bit of classical japanese art in it, some Europeanised works and some that are even hard to understand... Unfortunately, i was not allowed to take photographs and there was no catalogue available, so i have no documentation whatsoever of the show, but, i tool a picture of a beautiful Japanese palace that i think deserves attention.

And except for going to Monaco (which was not very art - eventful but very fun) i think this was my summer.

I think that travelling is essential to an artist as it gives a chance to experience other cultures and see so many different, beautiful and interesting, sometimes even disgusting things. That all this experience is something that gives an artist inspiration. Especially, if like me, the main interest of the work is people - going to different countries allows you to meet a vast diversity of people and considering different countries people have different mentality as well, all which makes traveling exciting.