Interview
Costa Gorelov
Costa is a Russian artist based in Moscow. He received his formal education in Film Directing (Cinema) from the Moscow Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting, and currently works an artist, director, TV production designer, and fashion stylist.
Costa grew up in the tradition of the North German Renaissance. German music, literature, painting, culture and language have greatly influenced him, and the formation of his style.
Costa uses sexuality and nudity as a tool to show vulnerability, insecurity, and at the same time, passion and thirst for life, which are eternally inseparable.
With the help of chamber scenes, in which the characters are left alone with their inner emotions, Costa wants to talk about different degrees of accepting oneself and overcoming human complexes, pain and fears, which make you feel vulnerable and helpless, but also harden you and make you stronger.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I've loved art since I was a kid, and I've always tried to turn everything into art. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been painting and creating, looking for something to inspire and stimulate me to new thoughts, interesting events and actions. When I was 4, my mother took me to a museum where I saw a huge number of works from Impressionist, Expressionist, Fauvist, Modernist and other eras. The thing I remember clearly about that day was the painting ‘Dance’ by Matisse. When I saw it, it became part of my DNA. The contrasts of colors vibrated so much and it was as if the blue was filled with charges of electricity and was about to burst. I couldn't stop admiring it.
After the museum, we went to see the ballet Swan Lake. I felt like I was looking at a live Matisse painting. I began to devote myself to the study of painting, literature, music, fashion, architecture, cooking, and interior design, carrying within me the echoing charge of that evening's dance.
Influenced by the Gothic and Baroque, I always wanted to create some sketches or stories filled with meaning. That was important to me. I worked on making short films and developing as a filmmaker, but at some point I got an arm injury and had to work on restoring arm mobility. So I began to devote more and more time to drawing and making pictures. So - art really does heal.”
What inspires you most?
“I'm inspired by everything. Inspiration can sneak up out of nowhere, from a saxophone or a trash can. I love architecture, fashion, and humor. I'm inspired by literature, especially when I meet characters in borderline states, like "Mrs. Dalloway", "To the Lighthouse" or "Orlando".
I'm always on the lookout for a feeling between melancholy and euphoria, which hooks me with its sincerity, irrationality, mystery. I see a pinching beauty in it, especially if it's laced with humor and sarcasm.
I’m inspired by my wife. I think she’s intelligent and talented, with an incredible sense of humor. A lot of paintings are born from the spark of our conversations. We’re always making up stories, plots, playing with words. My wife writes it down in scripts and stories, but in my case, everything finds its application in color and line. I’m also inspired by gastronomy. I adore food. I think that everything in the world can be compared to food.”
“I would like my work to resemble a blackcurrant sorbet with an emerald drowned in it. I find blackcurrants very tasty, and the combination of smell, color and taste of currants influence my palette. I'm pursuing the opportunity to convey that feeling through my art.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My biggest theme is life choices and life affirmation. My characters are very vulnerable, traumatized, frightened people who at the same time, know how to transcend this. They know how to laugh at themselves, and if not solve the problem, they can at least stylize it. In doing so, they choose life. As I see it, that is their strength. Like Clarissa Dalloway, who walked between happiness and grief. Is it depression or maturity? Is melancholy so terrible, or is it a crutch of sincere joy?
I show in my paintings the inextricable connection of eras and the repetitiveness of forms and frameworks. Fashion in my paintings means architecture, firstly because fashion mirrors architecture in many ways. Secondly, in fashion, like in an architectural structure, one can hide, protect, and enjoy. It can be worshipped or abused, for the cross that crowns the dome of the temple is the same object as the cross in the shell. So, too, the part of the shell can be the pointing compass of the four directions of the world.”
How would you describe your work?
“The character in my art can best be described as sparkling, unshakable, unchanging, honest, sexy, vulnerable, inaccessible, baroque, pure, lurking, conjuring, initiating a secret, gentle vampire or Chinatown drag-queen. A pathetic and funny native of the Middle Ages, trying to hide behind the modern creations of the luxury segment, and protected by them from the evil eye or his own memories. He is Mary Magdalene or Saint Sebastian, suffering and giving peace. An earthly angel, attracting the viewers with his perfect and sexy look, but being untouchable for those that keep his wings in a Birkin Bag. This is what I have in mind when creating the image of my character.”
“I use the superposition of transparent colors on top of each other, adding new shades in each new layer to give them character and achieve depth. I use transparent paint because I want to be absolutely honest with my viewer. I want no borders and barriers between the viewer and the canvas. It’s one of the most important things to me.”
What artists influence you most?
“I was greatly influenced by Renaissance art. In particular, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein, Lucas Cranach der Ältere. I am very inspired by Sandro Botticelli, Fra Filippo Lippi, Bronzino, Piero di Cosimo. My later artistic influences are Henri Matisse, Gustav Klimt, Ferdinand Hodler, Egon Schiele, Kirchner, Oskar Kokoschka, Petrov-Vodkin, Kustodiev, Giorgio de Chirico, Giorgio Morandi, Michail Vrubel, Eugène Grasset, Maurits Cornelis Escher, Kazimir Malevich.
And the modern artists are Yayei Kusama, Miriam Kahn, Marlene Dumas, Andrei Bartenev, Marina Abramovic, David LaChapelle. But the biggest imprint in my life was the legacy of Virginia Woolf. It has always accompanied me, like my own inner altar.”
What is your creative process like?
"I always start to paint some kind of feeling I have inside, putting it into the expression of the character's face. The first thing I draw in a picture is a face, and then I start to create the environment around it. I turn on the music and disconnect from the outside world. The music helps me follow the given dynamics and tempo. I use transparent oil and mix it with varnish. I paint with oil as if I were painting with watercolors. And the layering of different transparent shades gives the right depth of color and creates an inner glow. I dilute the oil in white ceramic plates to help me see the color and its saturation. So when I paint, my studio is full of brushes, plates and cups.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Artists help us feel our inner youth. They make the mind freer, the heart lighter, and the soul younger. And of course, they create material value. It seems to me that artists are increasingly striving to make other people smile and warm their hearts.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I‘m participating as an artist represented by Doctor Robot Gallery in the Art Madrid 2022 exhibition. Last year I took part in Focus Art Fair London 2021.”
