Today we’d like to introduce you to Irina Pushkareva.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Irina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born in Kurgan, Russia. As my mother told me, I started drawing when I was 1.5 years old, as soon as I could hold a pen. At the age of ten, I attended the art academy in Moscow and was trained in traditional ways of painting and drawing there. My family moved to the USA eight years ago, and I graduated from high school in Florida. Afterwards, I moved to New York to study Fine Art in Parsons, The New School, where I graduated from in 2018.
In the university, I began to experiment with oil painting and was interested in Quantum Mechanics that deal with the behavior of light and matter on an atomic and subatomic scale. I began to wonder how the world really looks like rather how one imagines or wants it to be. I asked myself – How can I show the world on the atomic and subatomic level in my art? I imagined that waves, particles, atoms would be separate from each other, but still work together in front of an observer. It inspired me to separate colors in my paintings rather than blending them together as I did for years. Since then, I have been creating unique, highly stylized oil paintings with the moving wave-like sections of colors, where I am able to depict the divine connection between everything on this planet and the universe. My artistic practice can be divided into two parts.
In the first part, I aim to capture the hypnotizing gaze, beauty, and deep essence of life in every animal I paint. In the second part, I explore the spiritual relationship between humans and animals. I take myths and legends of indigenous people as the starting points for my research, for I believe that it was the way our ancestors saved their knowledge for future generations. Sadly, many of histories, belief systems, and lores of indigenous people from all over the world are banished and misrepresented by Western education. Over time, my work became an archive of great knowledge that many people and myself including are deprived of. My paintings and prints were exhibited locally in Miami, and around the United States. Currently, I live and work in Miami, Florida.
Has it been a smooth road?
When I work with the histories and beliefs of other cultures that were banished and misrepresented for centuries, if not longer, I have to be and want to be very respectful. I understand my position in this country as a white woman, and I understand that I am taking some very important information from these cultures to create something of my own, which I later will sell. It’s the truth. For example, when I was making the painting “Four Corners” based on the Dine (Navajo), Anasazi, and Hopi knowledge about witchcraft and skinwalkers, I had to change my idea in the middle of the research. I could not find much information about skinwalkers – malevolent beings, the highest form of witchcraft in Dine (Navajo). After two weeks of intense research, I found an interview of an elder who clearly said that Navajo people do not want anyone outside of their culture to talk about, study, research anything about skinwalkers. It made sense why I could not find much information regarding this topic. I knew that I have to stop right away, and I shifted my focus on the Four Corners region instead.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
I am a full-time artist, and I create bright, colorful oil paintings. I do it so that people can make their homes and their lives more beautiful, that they can have something that will bring them inspiration every day. I also love to share my research with others, for what I learn along the way is extremely important and beneficial for all of us. This is what sets me apart in this sense. I also paint in a very specific oil technique.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love how multicultural it is. It has great and vibrant art scene. I love it, for generally, most people think that Miami is about partying and relaxing. We have amazing parks and nature reserves. We have great wildlife and marine life. Miami is not the most safest city to live in, so we have to be aware of our surroundings and be careful in general.
Pricing:
- $250 – $7500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ipushkareva.com/
- Email: dinapushkarevapi@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ipushkareva_art/
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