1. What personality traits help an artist to make art, and which ones hinder?

It seems to me that the same quality in different creative periods and situations can both help to make art and interfere. But still, inquisitiveness, self-criticism, courage, thoughtfulness, craving for experiments help. And excessive caution, modesty, pragmatism and dependence on other people's opinions interfere. Any person possesses all these qualities in different proportions, and one of them begins to dominate depending on circumstances and mood.

"The most important quality for an artist is the ability to be honest with him or herself."

2. What is your favorite activity besides art?

I really love forensics: stories about organized crime, serial killers, real investigations, etc. I am also a big fan of mixed martial arts. I've been playing tennis since I was a kid, but I've been following MMA closely. I also really like to dig into musical communities in search of new music for myself. I spend an indecent amount of time on this. I think I would connect my life with the musical sphere, if not for painting.

3. Did you have a situation in your life that influenced your creativity positively/negatively? Or has it changed the way you think about what you do?

For quite a long period, I tried to combine free creativity and commercial orders within the framework of the FGA agency created by me and Andrey Berger. Things were going well, but over time, commercial orders began to pull the blanket over themselves and absorb more and more time and creative energy. Despite the fact that we only took on interesting tasks and projects that were close in spirit, we were constantly haunted by a feeling of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment. It felt like I was stealing time and energy from myself.

Once I was invited to take part in a group exhibition in a well-known gallery in Germany. It so happened that in parallel with the preparation for the exhibition, I was charged with the task of preparing sketches for the commercial project. Being an extremely responsible person, I could not let down the people who were waiting for my sketches. As a result, I handed over the sketches, but left unforgivably little time for the creation of canvases for the exhibition, this certainly affected the works themselves. There was no catastrophe from incorrectly set priorities, but after that exhibition I learned a lesson and decided to embark on a free creative swim, which I still am.

4. Who would you like to talk to from the personalities who have ever lived or are living now? Why with this person?

Such a simple question absolutely baffles me. Perhaps because tons of interviews on the Internet to some extent erased the line between the layman and any significant figure of our time. Although I will name one person. Not so long ago, I began to study in more detail the «New Chronology» of Academician Anatoly Fomenko. This is an incredibly interesting theory that answers a lot of questions for me. It would be extremely interesting to talk to him about this fundamental work. If you're interested, watch the «New Chronology» series on YouTube.

"Art should evoke emotion, and emotion is a necessary spiritual food for a person."

5. How does your art change the world, the cultural component, yourself?

I treat art as entertainment and tend not to overestimate its role in the global context. However, I will not underestimate art for a single person either. Art should evoke emotion, and emotion is a necessary spiritual food for a person. It is not always useful, and emotions are far from always positive, but it is impossible to eat only sweets. Everything needs a measure. As for me, as a creator of "content", art gives self-confidence and, in a sense, an extension of oneself. At the same time, for me as a consumer, art gives rise to complexes. These need to be balanced.


6. What do you think about the future of contemporary art?

Excellent. The classics will not go anywhere, and it will always have followers, and technologies will open up new horizons for us and further integrate the viewer into the work of the author, which means enhancing the perception of emotions.

7. What do you think about the rapidly growing NFT? Are you planning to enter this niche?

NFT is definitely a breakthrough and a new opportunity to monetize primarily digital art. If there is a new opportunity for the artist to earn money, and for the collector to save money or increase it, that's great. I have not yet entered this niche, because I have not yet figured out with what. If I'm going to go digital, I want to do something that can't be done in analog. I missed the first wave of hype, so I gave myself time to give birth and implement some idea suitable for this format.


8. What is the most valuable thing for you (in the world, in life, in creativity)?

Freedom. Today it is felt especially acutely.