Hi Marius. I want to ask you first of all what your sources and themes are.
My own nightmares, states of anguish, moods. I dream a lot about water, my dreams get more and more intense as I sink, and then, in the studio, I can even myself out to some extent. Besides the oneiric part that I can not ignore, museums of natural history fascinate and scare me, as they inspire the idea of a strange place, constantly pointing to a bizarre way of archiving reality.
What are you working on now? Is this work part of a series, is it related to previous ones?
I’m working on some sort of allegory now, where an owl or an eagle spies upon a snake or maybe it is wondering how the snake crawls through the mud, as they are so different – one linked to the sky, the other to the earth, to the depths. These are questions people ask without finding answers. Regarding connections between words, I think all my works are interconnected.
Do you prefer a certain color in painting? Why?
I quite rarely use pure color, I prefer sober, cold colors, representative for the subconscious.
Techniques: stolen, learned, applied? How important is it today to master them?
A little bit of each: it’s just like when you are learning to walk. It’s the same in painting, mastering the technique of it is quite important: but of course, it is impossible to sing without knowing the musical notes.
Is there a recurring element/symbol/theme in your works?
Loneliness, existential isolation, anxiety, the void – the idea of not being at home in the world, culminating in a loss of meaning and identity.
Nature or culture? Where do you get your themes predominantly from?
From nature. I am particularly drawn to the subconscious, yet an unclear side of the human being. One can observe a seeming tranquility, a rigidity, an expectation of something about to happen.
How much does your art depend on the location/space you work in?
The space where I work doesn’t matter as long as I have colors, canvas and there’s no rain. I don’t mean to imply I am in the perfect place right now, as you can see, it’s just a derelict factory. Downstairs there is a car repair garage and engines roll until 5 o’clock in the afternoon, which bothers me.
Tell me three artists you like, who motivate you and put you to work.
Paolo Uccello, Balthus, Troy Brauntuch.
How do you put yourself in the state of doing in non-inspirational moments?
The inspirational thing is a trick, a trap. I walk around in the workshop, leaf through an album, read some, I think about losing my freedom tomorrow and not being able to do anything, and then I put myself in a state of doing, I prefer not to waste time.
Is there something in your biography that influenced your course?
Yes. Across the street, where I grew up, there was a Saxon house with a high roof, a weird painter lived there. He encouraged me to paint, gave me the first colors in oil, showed me how to prime the canvas with gesso (all that old recipe, a vertical layer, then a horizontal one, and so on), and we talked endlessly about painting. Since I went to no art school, meeting him was a key point in my life, it meant a lot. He unfortunately died a few years ago, while eating a donut.
What do you think about the local art community, how do you relate to it?
I prefer solitude.