Yuliya Latysheva — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

May 5

May 5 Yuliya Latysheva

Biography

Yuliya Latysheva was born in Potsdam, Germany in 1975, and has lived across the Russia and the United States. She currently resides in Samara, Russia. She chose a Samara State Pedagogical University to achieve her degree in Speech Therapy and Child Psychology. Yet art has always been in her mind. So when in 2000 she moved to the United States she began taking art and design classes in the NOVA and in the Lassie Corbett’s watercolor studio “Place to paint”. Working in graphic and web design during the following 15 years she got back to the painting in 2018. She graduated from the Quadro School of Contemporary Art in her home city of Samara in 2020. Yuliya is a member of an International Federation of Artists and an Artist’s Union of Russia.

Artist Statement

I'm a multimedia artist who loves to experiment. My creative work includes acrylic painting, drawing, printmaking, collages and digital art. Sometimes I find that my work with one media can influence my work in another. My work is a constant search for the best way to interpret the ideas and feelings I have. I do not limit myself to one medium, style, or concept. My knowledge and experience is changing. New ideas and new inspiration come along with them. If a viewer stops for a moment to view and reflect on my piece, then I have succeeded in my work.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

As far as I remember myself, I always liked to draw. I did not go to art school in my school years, but I drew a lot, mostly for myself, and did not show my pictures to anyone except my family members. For a very long time art was a hobby to me. I did not think I could become a real artist.

My life completely changed after moving to the USA in 2000. I started to take art and design classes in college (NOVA). That was a time when I’d realized that I wanted to connect my life with art and design. Unfortunately, after returning to Russia I could not continue my art practice. I needed to focus my attention on family and my design career.

I had been working as a graphic and web designer for about 15 years, and didn’t touch the brush until the end of 2018. In 2020, I graduated from the Quadro School of Contemporary Art in my home city Samara. A founder of this school Oksana Stogova helped me a lot to find myself in art in a new way, I felt like I would be woken up from a long sleep. After the first exhibition of the Quadro school students, I had realized that I wanted to become a professional artist.

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

I am a multidisciplinary artist, who loves to experiment.

In my work, I do not drive myself into any narrow frames or stereotypes. Abstraction is great because it gives complete freedom of expression and freedom in the choice of material. I do not limit myself to only one medium or style. One day I do acrylic painting, other times I mix paint and collage or do a completely digital project.

Sometimes I can work in several directions at once. I enjoy experimenting, combining materials and techniques and finding new ways of expressing.

Once in a while I love to surprise the viewer, do something unexpected. It can be new technique that I didn’t use before, or color combination, or even hidden elements on the painting. This brings new experience not just to me but to the viewer too.

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

I consider myself as an artist whose art is directed first and foremost to the viewer.

I will be happy to know that my art touches not only my soul but also the soul of the viewer. My goal is not for the viewer to guess what I wanted to convey but to discover something on his or her own, so that he or she not only sees but also feels the piece. I want to stir up the viewer's imagination so that by interacting with painting he or she will discover something new for himself or herself.

I always try to work only being in a good state of mind, because I believe that negative emotions will be reflected in the picture and the viewer will feel it. While some of my works can evoke very mixed feelings, and these feelings are not always the feelings of happiness, I hope that those works would never bring negative emotions.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

My process depends on the project I'm going to work on. If I paint an abstract painting I usually don’t have a particular plan. Inspiration can come from almost anywhere: music, shadows on the ground, paint peeling from the wall or anything else. It brings me the idea of what color palette to use.

For me, color plays an important role. I love the rebellious ability of color. Color affects our subconscious mind and evokes a number of associations. Even a slight shift in hue can completely change the overall emotional background of a painting.

If we talk about the creative process, I am very often jumping into the process without knowing my destination. On the other hand, even when I have a plan I don’t necessarily end up where I planned before. It could be different from what I thought or wanted in the first place.

In my process of creating a work, I am guided by color and imagination. Many images and shapes rise to the surface from my mind. I put my feelings and my emotions into each painting. Mostly, I follow my intuition, and sometimes happy findings or design discoveries make the process even more exciting.

If I need to work on a specific topic or with a different media I can start by sketching on paper or in a graphic program. Then I decide how it is better to implement the idea: what material or surface to use.

What is your favourite part of the creative process?

The process of creating work does not always go smoothly. I can create a piece in one breath and I am very happy when it happens. There are moments when something doesn't work out and I feel stumped. At such moments I feel desperate. This moment can last for a while. I postpone work for several days, sometimes even months. But usually, after that, there comes an “aha” moment when a concept is born in the head and everything takes shape. This is my favorite moment.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?

Last year I got in touch with the creativity of street artists and it had a great influence on me. I am fascinated by their imagination and skill to work on such large and complex surfaces. I wanted to pick up spray paint and start experimenting with it by myself. That’s what started a new series of my works. These works will be presented as a part of a collaboration project with my artist friend which will be presented at the exhibition during this year.

Website http://yula.me/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/a.la.yula/

Twitter https://twitter.com/alayula