Interview: Nataliya Elmer
Luca Curci talks with Nataliya Elmer during Venice International Art Fair 2021 at The Room Contemporary Art Space and Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello.

Born in 1977 in Luhansk (Ukraine), Nataliya Elmer started painting pictures since she was a child. After moving to Tyrol (Austria) in 2003, she started painting with acrylic and oil colours, inspired by the nature of this region and her my fantastic dreams. She wants to pass on the viewers all of her experiences, emotions and feelings. The subjects of her pictures are love, spirituality, positive energy and joy of life. She regularly takes part in various exhibitions and art fairs in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and England. Her pictures can be found not only in private and public collections in different countries, but they can also be seen on websites of galleries and art associations, as well as in her book “Thoughts on the Pictures” and various art catalogues.

LUCA CURCI – What is Art for you?
NATALIYA ELMER – My motto is “With my pictures I want to bring more positive energy into this world”. I want that my artworks convey positive thoughts, joy and happiness to the viewer while he is looking at them. With my artworks I want to make life even more beautiful, even happier, even more positive. Fantastic landscapes and 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. I want also to remind people that we are on a very short journey here, so it’s up to us to make this journey pleasant and full of joy for us and for the others and leave a good impression behind us.

LC – What’s your background?
NE – I was born in 1977 in Luhansk (Ukraine) and I started painting pictures since I was a child. 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 colours. Both the beautiful nature of this region and my fantastic dreams inspired me to create colorful and energetic pictures.
Thanks to various courses, studies and summer academies I attended 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 still use for my art and that I pass on to the others in my creative workshops.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
NE – The magnificent landscapes of our mountains, the happy life in the Alps, my dreams and fantasies – all of those things inspires me to paint such colorful, positive pictures. I want to express all of my wonderful experiences, my emotions and feelings into my pictures and let the viewer feels 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 I speak several languages, I am very impressed by how the philosophy of different peoples is reflected in their languages. Every language you speak is like a life, opens up new perspective and that includes the language of art. Everyone thinks about the meaning of life. I want to convey that with my art. Our civilization and nature, our way of life. Such individual and universal questions.

LC – How is being an artist nowadays?
NE – Being an artist today means for me personally, not only to have creative freedom for self-expression, but also to fulfill a certain mission. For me, this mission is expressed in the creation of paintings that bring positive energy to our world. With my creativity, I want to help people see the positive side of our life, see all the magnificent wonders of nature and our planet, all the wonderful opportunities for the personal development of everyone. Peaceful coexistence, caring for each other and respect for all living creatures.

LC – Did your style change over the years? In which way?
NE – My style has remained the same. Surreal landscapes and fantasy worlds. The technique and the details depend on the mood. Dreams I saw in the night and my fantasies on various relevant topics. My creative process is going on all the time. Many ideas come and arise spontaneously in my mind. As soon as the idea is fully ripe in my mind, I begin to depict it on canvas. Depending on the complexity of the idea conceived, the process of creating a picture varies from some weeks to some months. I often work on several paintings at the same time. The most challenging part of creating is the embodiment of the plan into reality. In my mind, I see a ready-made picture in its ideal form. Create it, in order to make the viewer feel the same, is the most important task for me.

LC – What do you think about the concept of this festival? How did it inspire you?
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. Five artworks I have created for Venice International Art Fair 2021 fit perfectly with this theme.

LC – In which way the artwork presented in our exhibition is connected with the festival’s theme?
NE – The theme of the festival is LIQUID ROOMS and FUTURE LANDSCAPES, five of my artworks take part in it. Venice International Art Fair 2021 analyzed the relationship between body and space. For the topic “Liquid Rooms” I selected the work “Dream Plants” for the gallery in the Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello and the work “Other Worlds Summer” for the gallery The Room Contemporary Art Space. The first work 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. The flowing structures of the plants mean the relationship between the inner and outer worlds.
In the second one, other worlds float like soap bubbles over green fields in the orange sky. Each soap bubble has its own kingdom: in one, a kingdom of crystals and a crystal city; in the other, a kingdom of stalactites and a city of stalagmites; in another, a kingdom of spheres and a city of round buildings. In a fantasy world everything is possible. Just like these kingdoms-bubbles, soaring in the space of the big world, so each person soars in his own kingdom of thoughts and desires in the space of the real world.
For the topic “Future Landscapes” I selected the three pictures: “Rainy Day”, “Castle in the Mountains” and “Other Worlds Winter”. Two of them are exhibited in the gallery of Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello and one in the Gallery The Room Contemporary Art Space. On these pictures you can see
various options of future landscapes – castles, floating worlds, futuristic buildings of unusual architecture, inspired by the creatures of nature (shells, snails and diatoms). The ideas of them are the coexistence of nature and human civilization, the life of man in nature and the life of nature in man. The picture are a glimpse into a wonderful life without worries and without fears.

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists?
NE – Yes, 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.

LC – Did you enjoy cooperating with us?
NE – Working with ITSLIQUIT GROUP is a very good experience for me. The gallery assistants are always friendly and helpful. I would like to take this opportunity to express my special gratitude to the project manager for the excellent work and support. Thanks to her advice, detailed information and help, everything turned out very well and I am very pleased with the results. Also I would like to thank the all entire team for very good
services. I am looking forward to further collaborations with you in the future. In these times it is not so easy for everyone. Organizing the event under these circumstances is a great challenge for everyone, not only for the ITSLIQUID GROUP, but also for the artists. Bring the pictures to
Italy and come to the vernissages when the time to stay is so limited, was a bit complicated. But with good support from the event team, everything is going great.

LC – What do you think about ITSLIQUID Platform?
NE – The ITSLIQUID platform looks very attractive and interesting for artists. This is a great opportunity for artists to show their artworks to the whole world, telling about themselves and their art. I really appreciate the wonderful venues for live exhibitions. I like the exhibition rooms very much and the two places where I exhibited are located strategically in the city. Very good locations and very helpful team.