Interview: Nataliya Elmer
Luca Curci talks with Nataliya Elmer during BARCELONA CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR 2021, 3rd Edition, at Valid World Hall Gallery, and during LONDON CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR 2021, at THE LINE Contemporary Art Space.

“Born in Luhansk, Ukraine I have been painting pictures since I was a child. First, there were the pencils and watercolors. My first exhibition took place when I was only seven years old. After moving to Tyrol / Austria in 2003, I started painting with acrylic and oil colors. Both the beautiful nature of this region and my fantastic dreams inspired me to create colorful and energetic pictures. All of my wonderful experiences, my emotions, and the feelings that I project into my pictures, I want to pass on to the viewer and let them feel the same! The subjects of my pictures are love, spirituality, positive energy, and joy in life. My favorite painters are impressionist Claude Monet and surrealist Salvador Dali. One impresses me with his perception of colors, lights, and nuances of tones, the other with his meticulous precision in the depictions of details. Because of various courses, studies, and summer academies with great painters as Wolfgang Marks (Vienna), Andreas d´Orfey (Munich), Christine Hirschberg (Holzhausen), and others, I have managed to learn interesting painting techniques, that I use for my art and that I pass on to the others in my creative workshops. I regularly take part in various exhibitions and art fairs in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and England. My pictures can be found not only in private and public collections in different countries – but they can also be seen on my homepage, websites of various galleries and art associations, as well as in my book “Thoughts on the Pictures” and various art catalogs. For my pictures, I use professional high-quality acrylic and oil colors made in Europe in France with very high pigmentation with pure, high-quality pigments with excellent lightfastness and aging resistance. Also, high-quality professional, white primed, stretched canvases made of high quality, acid-free pure linen, which are attached to a robust, very stable wooden frame made of carefully processed European pinewood with certified proof of origin. My pictures usually do not need a picture frame, because the edges of the picture are painted on the side.”

Luca Curci – How did you get to your current artistic practice?
Nataliya Elmer – I was born in a very creative family – both of my grandfathers were musicians, the grandmother on the mother’s side sang very well and did great embroidery, my father wrote science books, my mother painted very well and created great clothes. I have been painting pictures since I was a child and the profound questions have always moved me very much: where do we come from, what for and why are we there, where are we going? This is also reflected in my art – all of my paintings have a variety of encoded symbols and each image contains many philosophical thoughts and stories. Because of various courses, studies, and summer academies with great painters, I have managed to learn interesting painting techniques, that I use for my art and that I pass on to others in my creative workshops. Regularly I take part in various exhibitions and art fairs in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and England. Thanks to our beautiful nature in the Alps, I always have a great source of inspiration for composing strong colors for my pictures. All of my pictures are loaded with a lot of positivity, joy, and warmth.

LC – What are your thoughts while you paint? Do you have any habits or rituals while you work?
NE – The motifs of my pictures are inspired by my dreams, imaginary thoughts, beautiful emotions, and experiences. I project all these beautiful ideas, all the joy, and positive energy into my pictures while painting. For me, painting is like meditation, I switch off completely from the outside world, travel into the world of fantasy, enjoy the deep joy and positive energy that surrounds and flows through me.

LC – Are your artworks focused on a specific theme?
NE – My motto is: „With my pictures, I want to bring more positive energy into this world…“ I want my pictures to convey positive thoughts, joy, and happiness to the viewer while looking at them. With my artworks, I want to make life even more beautiful, even happier, even more positive. Fantastic landscapes of the surrealistic worlds are real, the impossible is possible in my pictures, dreams have come true there… Through my pictures I want to arouse people’s attention to the wonders of our planet and nature, to make them focus on the beautiful and good things, always to see the positive side of life. Through my artworks I want also to remind people that we are only on a very short journey here, it is up to us to make this journey pleasant and full of joy for us and for others… To leave a good impression behind us.

LC – How do you choose your subjects? Is it a reasoned or an instinctive process?
NE – The subjects of my work are surreal landscapes and fantastic worlds. The technique and details of creation depend on the mood, night dreams, and my fantasies on various relevant topics. My creative process goes on constantly. Many ideas come in a dream or arise spontaneously in my mind, as soon as the idea is fully ripe, I begin to embody it on canvas.

LC – Do you use art to express something in particular? Is it your medium of expression?
NE – For me, art is a mission and it is expressed in the creation of paintings that bring positive energy into our world. With my creativity, I want to help people to see the positive side of our life, to perceive all the great wonders of nature and our planet, all the wonderful opportunities for the personal development of each individual… Peaceful togetherness, care for one another, and respect for all living beings – that is what is inherent in my works of art and what is expressed in each of my pictures.

LC – Do you agree with our vision of art and what do you think about the theme of the festival?
NE – The concept of the festival and its themes are very close to me and run like a red line through all my art – the relationship between the individual and the world, man and nature, our joint future… The influence of man on the world around him and on nature, the influence of space and the world around him on man…

LC – Can you explain something about the artworks you have in our exhibition?
NE – The first picture “Dream Plants” has this philosophy in it: Beauty and subtle energies are closely intertwined with each other. This picture is not only the song of praise to nature and creation but also the contemplation of the subtle energies that permeate, network, and connect everything. It represents my love for nature, all creatures, the whole universe, and everything that surrounds us… Inside and outside… Consciousness and the world around. With my art, I want to make life more beautiful and positive. I want the viewer to concentrate on the positive side of life and have happy thoughts. Depiction of femininity and the energies that flow through and connect everything. The flowing structures of the plants mean the relationship between the inner and outer worlds. The second one „Dreams“ means: Our dreams reflect our desires. We are free in our dreams, we can create our own worlds there, go on adventurous journeys, build futuristic buildings and enjoy artistic and creative freedom. Pink river, mint-colored sky, around fly the violet clouds on which the stalactites hang… Violet forest, shining star, orange-colored energy flows through everything… In the dark blue cloud, there is a process of creation – in front of the cloud we see a loop of DNA… What will it be then? What’s coming? In this picture are so many symbols, so many philosophical thoughts depicted. With this picture, I want to get the viewer to think up their own story, switch on their own creativity and let their imagination run wild!

LC – What do you think about the organization of our event?
NE – Barcelona is a great city and ITSLIQUID GROUP offers a very good opportunity for artists to present themselves and their own works here.

LC – Would you suggest a collaboration with us? What do you think about our services?
NE – The ITSLIQUID platform looks very attractive and interesting for artists. It can be seen that you are actively working. You have a very good internet presentation with many opportunities to participate in different art events. This is a great opportunity for artists to show their artworks to the whole world, talk about themselves and their art.

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists?
NE – I think that ITSLIQUID GROUP is an opportunity for artists to present themselves and show their art. There are many different opportunities to take part in events, exhibitions or competitions and to make interesting new contacts.