Interview with the Artist: Olga Gorbunova

I was born into a creative family and grew up in an atmosphere of paintings, books about art; I used to spend time surrounded by art materials, listening to the conversations about art and exhibitions. The Artist's House in Omsk, where the studios of artists are located, has become my second home. I have started drawing since childhood and studied at the Children's Art School, then graduated from the Faculty of Arts of Omsk State Pedagogical University specialising in Easel Painting. When I was in my last year at the university, I have found a job at the design studio, where I continue working at present as an interior visualisation designer. I consider my work interesting and exciting, but my thoughts about life and creative ideas can only be fully realised in painting. After graduation, I have not painted for five years, I only produced pieces of graphic arts on ocmmission.

     In 2012, my father, the famous Omsk artist, Nikolai Grigorievich Gorbunov, passed away. It was hard, painful, and the feeling of being lost has never left me since then. At that moment, something switched in my life - I have gotten an urge to paint and surrender to this process completely, without thinking about anything, I just wanted to let go of the heavy load of sadness. In the process, I have noticed that my imagination creates images, which somehow appear by themselves, I just visualise them and they become visible. It was amazing and joyful! My first artwork, “The Dialogue” has become an opening into the world of painting and imagination. It was painted literally in one evening. I was excited and curious. It was interesting, what else could happen if I surrender to the process of painting...? This was the beginning of my creative journey as an artist. Since 2013, I have started participating in exhibitions in Russia and abroad.

 I like to believe that my art changes and progresses. At the beginning of my artistic journey, I used to make pieces of graphic art - this is the best media to express my ideas and emotions quickly and in the most accurate way. Gradually I switched to acrylic and canvas and started creating multi-layered pieces. I enjoyed using a palette knife because of the effects it produces. However, oil painting has always attracted me the most. When I was young, I really loved visiting my fathers’s studio at the Artist’s House. There was always an extraordinary atmosphere there: the smell of oil paints, a huge number of books about art, etc. Paintings were everywhere: on the shelves, on the walls, on the floor, some were turned away, one piece, work-in-progress, was placed on an easel, there were a lot of brushes, pencils, paints around. As for me, oil painting associates with the feeling of freedom.

Each painting reflects a small part of life: the feelings I have experienced, various life situations I have been in or my reflections on a particularly exciting and interesting theme. Everything that touches my soul is reflected in my artworks; it could be a theatrical performance or an extraordinary musical composition, or an unusual phrase, even a communication with people on fascinating topics, travelling, etc. The Life itself, in general, is my major source of inspiration.

     I have always thought that it is too boring to depict the real world – after all, we have got a camera to make photographs. In my opinion, it is much more interesting to convey reflections, feelings and sensations on canvas. Inspiration never arrives suddenly, it is always a process. Sometimes I have to force yourself to re-start working, and, after a short rest from one completed painting, take on the next one. In this case, the brain begins to “listen” to both the external and the internal worlds.

I am interested in Symbolism in painting and poetry, but, in fact, any art movement is special if the work is done professionally. I like the pieces of some abstract artists, realists, primitivists, etc. I have always been interested in paintings with a philosophical component. When I encounter such artworks, I could spend hours admiring these, analysing every detail, and it is so exciting to discover something in an artwork, which was not immediately noticeable, and you think - ah! That's it! During my studies at the university, I used to look at such paintings and was wishing to create my own.

Speaking about my favourite artists, I really like the Lithuanian-Russian painter Mikalojus Ciurlionis (1875 - 1911), the topics of his pieces are philosophical and are full of symbolism. I recall that when I was fifteen I used to study an album with his paintings very thoroughly; I have found it at the bookshelf at home and was amazed with Ciurlionis’s artworks.

I believe that my father’s art has influenced me undoubtedly. I remember seeing my father at work in his studio: he was thoughtful, calm, sometimes overly focused on his thoughts, his brush movements were precise, his gaze was fixed, it seemed to me that while painting he was creating a new Universe.

There are many various stories related to my paintings. For example, there is one concerning the painting “Through the Legends.” Once I was looking for information about Omsk, about the myths and legends of Omsk, and found an article by I. E. Skandakov about secret underground passages under the city. Then I have found photographs of the restoration process of Lyubinsky Prospect. I was surprised by the fact that there is an underground floor under the first floor of the Vrubel Museum, which also used to have windows and doorways, and apparently these doorways were previously used for their intended purpose, since the door hinges still survive. I went to the Museum of Enlightenment to personally communicate with Igor Evgenievich Skandakov, as I learned that he was very passionate about this topic. We talked for several hours. And, as a result, I have produced a painting; it depicts the Vrubel Museum at the top of the composition and a section of the Earth's surface below, which opens its doors and the light shines through the broken brickwork.

Another example is the painting “The Doubts” which depicts a figure with several faces. This artwork was painted as I have experienced the state of “extreme” doubt. When you have your own opinion on a situation, you trust yourself and believe that you are doing the right thing, and then, in the process of communication with various people, the doubts appear. It happens when you try on someone else’s opinion on yourself and your life. As a result, you lose yourself. Having experienced this feeling, I concluded that it is ok to listen to various opinions, but the only right thing is to trust yourself and your feelings. In Russian, as for me, the word ‘doubts’ literally means ‘the denial of oneself as an individual.’

Do you consider your artworks as belonging to a certain style? 

It is difficult for me to correlate my work with any style direction. I transfer this right to art historians and cultural experts. I would rather create without thinking about styles and directions.

What are your professional plans for the future?

I cannot imagine my life without artistic work. As for me, the process of painting is the way to explore the world and oneself. There are still many things I would like to accomplish, but it would be better not to reveal anything for now... The most important thing for an artist is to work and to create and not to stop.