INTERVIEW: LIUBOV BOCHKOVA INTERVIEWS | JULY 7, 2021 | ITSLIQUID
Interview: Liubov Bochkova Luca Curci talks with Liubov Bochkova during FRAGMENTED IDENTITIES, the second appointment of BORDERS ART FAIR 2021, at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space.
Luca Curci – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most? Liubov Bochkova – I was born in a family of engineers in Moscow. Although my parents or relatives weren’t engaged in art, I’ve always received huge support from them in my desire to dedicate my life to art. While I was studying in both music and art schools, the moment to choose one direction arrived. I chose visual arts without hesitation: I was obsessed with colors and the power of the impact of painting on the viewer. I spent years of studies at Art Academy in Moscow and Milan. But experience, which made me who I am, was 3 years of loneliness, surviving and research during my life in Milan. It was a complicated period when my art became the mirror of my life through symbols and allegories.
LC – Which subject are you working on?
LB – Currently I’m working on a big project that talks about time and space and our role in both. This project supposes to include also my ceramic artwork.
LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
LB – From people, I’d say: not the external aesthetic, but internal. I often think about the complexity and versatility of feelings, the existence of logic, the strange work of our brains, and some inexplicable actions.
LC – Do visitors’ suggestions enrich yourself and your art?
LB – Actually, people always confuse me, even more, than I am already (laughs). I love to have deep conversations, but the more we talk, the more doubts we have. So maybe the truth is that my doubts caused by people enrich my art and make me move on and continue to explore.
LC – Did your style change over the years? In which way?
LB – I was supposed to use oil colors and canvas in its more traditional way during all my studying years because I was very inspired by classic and figurative art and I was fascinated by the impeccable skills of old masters. Now I’m more interested in the contemporary world, nowadays problems and new ways of self-expression. So there is an evolution from a very classic art language to more abstract and creative. I would also note a specific color choice related to each different period of life.
LC – What do you think about the concept of this festival? How did it inspire you?
LB – I work much more on the psychological identity of people, but here I am having the pleasure to present the painting dedicated to the identity of a city. The urban theme is very interesting and inspiring, I think I’ll come back to it soon.
LC – Can you explain something about the artworks you have in our exhibition?
LB – At the “Fragmented Identities” exposition I presented my artwork “Illusions in a big city”. What do we expect when we move into a big city: opportunities? The sweet smell of success in the air inspires. We dream big, we feel powerful, we are open. Yet it might seem like a cage: loneliness and the illusion of freedom, because we see the sky in the mirrors of skyscrapers, we see directions, but someone told us where to go and how to do; every day we move so fast but basically, we don’t move anywhere.. as slaves of our own expectations. The Latin phrase – “Alis Volat Propriis” which means “Everyone flies with their own wings”, is the perfect description of my perception of life in the cities.
