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ABN
REBEL WITHOUT A PAUSE 15 MINUTES
DARIA BAGRINTSEVA BREAKS ALL THE RULES BY JENNIFER M. WOOD
T
hey don't make a business card large enough to list all of Daria Bagrintseva's accomplishments. T ough she's best known as a painter, she's gained acclaim
as a photographer, graphic designer and interior designer, too. In the past few years alone, Bagrintseva has shown her work everywhere from her native Russia to Spain, Germany, Italy and the U.S. Spontaneous in her creations,
Bagrintseva compares herself to a sprinter at the starting line; she is al- ways ready to create. Utilizing a variety of techniques, media, materials and genres, Bagrintseva's work defi es easy categorization as she melds traditional techniques with modern-day methods to explore an endless list of inspirations. ABN spent "15 Minutes" with
Bagrintseva to talk about her infl uences and the defi nition of success.
JENNIFER WOOD (ABN): When did you know you fi rst wanted to be an artist? DARIA BAGRINTSEVA (DB): I have been draw- ing since childhood. I was driven by the possibility to create my own fantasy world, to let this world come to life.
ABN: How did you get started? DB: When my parents realized I was seri- ous about painting, they sent me to art school. I accomplished its four-year plan in two years. Aſt er school, I entered the Moscow State Industrial Art University SG Stroganov, one of the most presti- gious painting institutions in Russia. Getting a professional painting back-
ground is an important initial step for any painter. It gives the confi dence to understand color, form, refl exes, anatomy, per- spective, perception, etc. [But] classic academic training had its draw- backs. Major attention was paid to mastering the techniques of paint- ing, drawing and mak- ing sculptures, while the emotional aspects of creativity and current contemporary art studies were underestimated. In 2002, I graduated
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the Academy with a Masters of Art degree. Upon graduation, I have
deliberately refused to follow many of the principles that we were taught. Hav- ing a professional background allows one to play with form, colors and com- position—to go beyond the rules and de- liberately allow incorrectness. Paradoxi- cally, the resulting painting turns out to be more realistic.
ABN: How would you describe your style? DB: Style for me is just a tool, the same as subject, technique or the size of the canvas. It is rather diffi cult to defi ne the style in which I work. It has some ele- ments of expressionism in some works, and impressionism in others. Sometimes [a piece] demands a mixture of styles in the spirit of postmodernism, or the brightness and straightness of pop art. A lot of my works are written in the style of abstract expressionism; however, all of them are united by a similar brushwork and creation algorithm.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
