LOOP/ Memo 8

We finally arrived at the girls' studio, in Cluj’s city center, in full pandemic😊. What is life like when you share the working space with two other fellow artists?

Teodora: Personally I see only the advantages in this business… having someone to take a coffee break and have a good laugh with… being able to get good pieces of advice or criticism in real time… always finding the door open when you get to the studio 😊.

Andrada: There are no downsides for me. I had a space alone and I don’t want to repeat the experience. I love coffee breaks with my studio fellows. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

How much does your art depend on the place you work in?

Tiziana: The place I work in is very important, there must be enough space and a suitable ambiance. I’m not the kind of artist who can paint in any circumstances.

What are you currently working on? Tiziana told us that she worked all night cleaning her space for the interview😊.

Tiziana: The topics that concern me lately are related to the notion of  territory and especially to the way in which identity, memory and space form a unitary ensemble of existence.

Teodora: The last series I’m working on is called Leptospermum, a series in which I exploit the idea of preconception, based on an unexplained or unstudied term. The title of the series is the scientific name of a genus of plants generally known as tea trees. I am intrigued by the name of these flowering plants (the flower containing the reproductive organs of the plant) that refer to sexuality without being offensive or vulgar. However, the works of the series do not only contain plants of this kind, and I tried to reproduce the idea of coming of age representing different visual metaphors of it through flowering plants. The big themes I work with are inspired mostly by my curiosity for the way that people perceive certain things, certain situations and in my interest to visually represent these stereotypes and preconceptions.

 

Andrada:

My themes differ depending on the series I am working on, but I can say that for several years the idea of utopia has been found in all my works. Painting is for me a scenography of the imagination, an interactive puzzle from which some parts are deliberately missing and need the imagination, memory or reason of the viewer to complete them. I am not trying to describe parts of nature, nor am I following a natural narrative line. I’m more interested in creating a plausible artificial world. I think the next series will be inspired by movies, but it’s still in the intentional phase. I have in mind some characters that just won`t leave …

Is there an iconic element that appears recurrently in your paintings?

Tiziana: The impression of the organic element always appears in my works, being a result of the fluidity with which I usually treat the image.

Teodora: Yes, I think that sexuality appears recurrently in my works, even if sometimes extremely veiled.

Andrada: I could say that the landscape is a leitmotif in my works, but I do not consider it a central element in any work.

Nature or culture? Which one you mainly refer to?

Tiziana: Nature.

Teodora: I would  incline to say culture, although for the most part what I want to do  is visibly related to human nature.

 

Andrada: Both. In my case, I can’t work without any of them. For example, the landscape is a recurring element in my works, but it is taken out of context (cut out). I consider my works to be a kind of scenography, and in order to come to life I need references.

Can you identify an idea that guides your practice?

Tiziana: I want to believe that I built my artistic practice around the concept of authenticity. I try to resist “trends” and free visual fireworks that do not represent me.

Teodora: Keep it simple, stupid.

What are your color preferences? The chromatic temperature changes significantly here when you move from one room to another.

Tiziana: I prefer dark colors, I think they bring something extra to the image, a feeling of movement, preciousness and depth.

Teodora: Hard to say. I think I prefer any color, as long as it’s juicy in this context.

 

Andrada: I develop fixations on certain colors depending on the series I am working on, but blue has involuntarily become the predominant color in my compositions.

Techniques: stolen, learned, applied? What relevance do they have in your practice?

Tiziana:Learned and adapted… I think.

Teodora: I think it is extremely important to master techniques in order to be able to reproduce what we imagine.

Andrada: Stolen, learned, applied and improved as needed. Very important, because it shortens the execution time. Due to the technique used (cut layers) I spend quite a long time on a piece of work and sometimes, seeing the same painting on the wall for two months makes me feel like cutting it. It’s like listening to the same song, composed by me, on repeat, forever. At some point you get tired!

 

Tell me 3 artists you admire, whose art inspires you and put you to work.

Tiziana: Lately I have been very inspired by land art, by artists like R. Smithson, R. Long and Christo and Jean-Claude.

Teodora: Nobuyoshi Araki, Katsushika Hokusai, Gustav Klimt.

Andrada:

Only 3? I can’t just 3 … 😊

Hieronymus Bosch, Gerhard Richter, Michaël Borremans, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Juan Muñoz, Nan Goldin, Maurizio Cattelan, Marja Pirilä, Jan Saudek (without a specific order, depending on the mood…)

How do you cope in uninspired moments?

Tiziana: I think the inspiration is just a state of doing. I don’t like to work when I’m not in the mood, instead, when my energy is low I try to push myself by using the typical tricks: consuming art and a fresh drink.

Andrada: Slow and hard as a diesel, but I try. For several years I have made a habit of writing down ideas on the cell phone, they usually come when I can’t put them into practice (at night, when I’m not in the studio or when I have already started a new painting 😊). When I have a breakdown of inspiration, I consult my “notebook” and start making digital sketches. So far, this method has worked.

How do you see the relationship between intention, planning, execution and the final product?

Teodora: Given my area of interest (the intention-product-perception relationship) that I am currently studying, I try to juggle these factors and try to be as faithful as possible to the process. Of course, this doesn’t always work out for me 😊.

Andrada: Lots of intentions (phone notes); few reach the planning phase (digital sketches); and fewer reach the execution phase (painting), where they undergo the most changes until the final product. Some “final products” (with flaws, I say) 😊 lie in a corner of the workshop in the hope that they will be retouched, although most of the time it is unlikely to continue a work, once I finished a series.

Tell me an essential moment in your journey, if any.

Andrada: There are more, but the decisive moment was the participation in DIPLOMA 2018 (a festival for the new generation of artists, architects and designers). I was a master’s graduate and I honestly didn’t know which direction I was going. I knew I wanted to paint, I dreamed of doing it as a full time job, but you all know that’s not enough! After DIPLOMA I received a proposal to take part in the GAUDEAMUS Art Fair, where my works were exhibited in the Cultural Romanian Institute’s stand, which led to a contract with Estopia Art Gallery (… in short 😊).

How much has the pandemic changed your daily routine?

Teodora: The pandemic changed my daily routine quite a bit, in the sense that my schedule became more complicated and busy. On the other hand, I think it helped me become more honest with myself about the artistic process.

Do you think this situation will have an impact for artistic creation in the future, when we will have overcome this moment?

Teodora: I hope the impact will be a positive one… people are waiting to go out, to meet other people,  to see new things, beautiful things, that make them happy.

Please name something indispensable in the context of social distancing… What do you miss the most?

Teodora: Going out…unrestricted.

Andrada: Socializing, of course! All the events I had to or wanted to attend to were postponed or canceled (exhibitions, festivals, travels, etc.).