Anfisa Kass is a talented Ukrainian artist who works in the spirit of impressionism. Our conversation today took place at the CodeKY art location; we spoke with Anfisa about the thirst for creativity and what it leads to; about new works, about society and the role of women in it.
- Anfisa, when did you feel the need to paint?
I started drawing in childhood. In kindergarten I copied pictures from the illustrations of a book of fairy tales, then there was art school. I have been engaged in painting professionally since the age of 5. I studied at an Art School in Kyiv. My first higher education was in economics. My mother dreamed of seeing me as a prosperous businesswoman and considered my passion for painting and drawing merely a hobby. But after my first degree I decided to master another one, and my main one — I enrolled in and in 2007 graduated from the Repin Saint Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting with a degree in "Painting".
- So it turns out you have been painting all your life.
At first I was engaged in all sorts of business, but not in art at all — after all I had an economics degree (smiles); I did not paint much and only for myself, sometimes I gave my paintings to friends. But a few years ago I felt such strong inspiration that I could no longer fight it, I felt the need to paint and to devote my life to it.
Now I can say for certain that I cannot imagine myself without paintings. I express myself in this, it is my life, it is my way of communicating.
- Where do you paint your pictures?
Both in the studio and at home. It is harder to work at home, at home there are the children — seven and three and a half years old — Maksym and Anfisa, my beloved but very active kids, they do not let their mother work. So I can only paint when they are temporarily away or asleep after 10 in the evening. Yesterday, for instance, I painted at night with a flashlight.
Sometimes the street lamps go out and I paint under a lamp — I cannot stop; so yesterday too I lit the way with my phone and painted.
- Do you create only in the field of painting?
No, not only! In general I love making everything with my hands. If I were a man, I would make unusual tables and generally all sorts of furniture. I really like everything that is handmade. At one time I loved making ikebana very much, I also have painted pseudo-stained-glass pieces, I painted furniture, I make brooches, I develop prints and I have tried myself as a clothing designer.
But the priority is of course painting, I adore oil. It is alive, mobile, of the present.
- What is the difference between Kass's painting and that of other artists? What is the specificity of your paintings?
Before, I painted vivid nude girls. There was a period in my work when I saw in a woman the manifestation of beauty in forms, in appearance. I painted ideal figures that attracted the gazes of men and even women. These paintings were even somewhat sexual. Now I look completely differently at what female beauty is. And in general at who a woman is. I look around and see different women — of different appearances, from different social strata, of different faiths, nationalities and views on life.
But all of us women are united by one thing — love, children, society, concern about the future in our country, in society, peace in Ukraine. We all want to be happy and loved, to have stability, not to fear losing our men in the war. By the way, we are now preparing an exhibition-performance about woman.... Or rather about the Apple, as a symbol of woman) The apple has, after all, long been considered a symbol of femininity, youth and freshness. Starting from the times of the Renaissance this symbol was a symbol of Venus, personifying female beauty.
- What message do these female images in the form of the Apple, as a symbolism present in your paintings, carry?
The paintings that I have created for this exhibition-performance (it will not be just an exhibition) will be explained by novellas, each of which reveals the secret meaning of the painting.
I want the viewer to understand that a painting is deeper than just painted figures or a subject. It is an experience, an emotion, a story — frozen on the canvas. With this exhibition I want to draw society's attention to the emotions and experiences of women — perhaps someone will say "banal emotions", but it is precisely of these emotions and experiences that a woman consists. In our society little attention is paid to people's experiences and emotions. Right now is a very difficult time emotionally, and I want to reflect these stories in my paintings.
[[Kass Picture]]
From the editors: Anfisa Kass will present new works as soon as December, at a new exhibition-performance that will take place in the M17 gallery. The curator of the exhibition of the artist Kass was the art project CodeKY, with Yuliia Kovalova as the author of the project. CodeKY creates concepts in art products, and now Anfisa's paintings can be purchased on our online portal in the Art section.
We thank for the interview the wonderful artist Kass, who is able to combine a multitude of creative directions: being the host of the programme "Modna Pravda" on television, doing interior design, creating her own clothing brand and painting such conceptual and cohesive works of art.
