It is very important for me to trigger the viewers’ imagination
, especially if those viewers are little kids. I usually don’t explain in details “what is on my canvas”. I just say what inspired me.
For me art is not a single thing. In most cases art is a process of communication between the artist and his audience. It has no boundaries, no laws, and no limitations.
This subject-matter reminds me of an article I came upon time ago. The author explained about the “curse of the artist”: a painter can’t see his own work from the eyes of the viewer; he can’t enter a room and see his finished painting hanged on the wall for the first time. Therefore, he can’t know how it looks like from a different point of view just his own.
In this regard the more viewers see my artwork the more opinions I can have. I am ready for this and I am curious about it. This is a normal process and the reason is:
People are different so are their perceptions, emotions and opinions. In my opinion the clear communication between a painter and a viewer and “understanding each other at any cost” is not a prerequisite to value an artwork.
My favorite example of this lack of comprehension is one of my works called “Forest”, representing tall trees. It was part of an exhibition and during the show a boy came to me and said: “I really love your hot peppers painted as trees upside down. This is so original.”
I was surprised to find out in the middle of my show that the threes looked more like hot peppers indeed. I changed the name of the painting into “hot peppers”.
As an artist I strongly believe that one of the most valuable qualities of the process of art is its availability for interpretation and I welcome this enigma, magic and opportunity with opened hands and soul.