Ielizaveta Portnova: It's a choice I made in my early childhood 4sk2w

What inspired you to create art and become an artist? (events, feelings, experiences…)

It is a choice I made in my early childhood. I was always sure that being an artist was the best job I could do. At school, I had difficulty understanding most subjects and was only interested in drawing classes. The first real step I took in the direction of art was to apply for a degree in ceramics - against my parents' wishes. I quickly developed a great affection for the art of ceramics and, in my second year, I met my mentor Aleksandr Chafirov who gave me the conviction that I wanted to be an artist. I think it is important to find a mentor who can make you love the pleasant and difficult aspects of the profession - I am thinking in particular of the preparatory phase which can be laborious.

What is your artistic background, the techniques and subjects you have experimented with to date?

It all started with drawing and painting, then in art school, I had the chance to try tapestry and fabric printing [batik]. I quickly specialized in ceramics and pottery while trying other art forms such as watercolor, linocut or calligraphy. Later, I worked as a designer of forged objects and, for the last six years, I have started making jewelry using the Tiffany stained glass technique. 95% of my creation remains ceramics. For the last twenty years, ceramics has been more than my main activity, it has been my entire life. In ceramics, I create objects with various shapes ranging from small bowls to large s. I have also participated in the restoration of historical architectural works such as facade or interior decorations and bas-reliefs. As an artist, I mainly create sculptures and I invite those who wish to visit my world.

What are the 3 aspects that differentiate you from other artists, making your work unique?

1. My artistic approach is not only about finding subjects but also about discovering modeling methods, coating recipes and firings. I try to bring my personal touch even when using traditional techniques.

2. Ceramics is more than a profession for me: today, after losing my working conditions and stability because of the war in Ukraine, it is the last thing I am willing to lose. I am now trying to integrate into a new country so that I can continue my art.

3. Everything I create reveals something very intimate about me. I don't try to please, but rather to find my audience. Sincerity may not differentiate me from other artists, but it qualifies my personal approach to creation.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I need to intellectualize my emotions and experiences and art is for me a way to dissect and express them. In other words, art is a necessity more than a ion: I breathe because I create. Life, its tragedies, its joys and its unexpected events are a source of inspiration. Ceramics as a material is of course also a source of inspiration: each time I handle it, I relive the same wonder of the first discovery. Each discovery implies a multitude of new possibilities, it is a dynamic that elevates me and continues to inspire me.

What is your artistic approach? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?

Art is for me the endless process of cognitive evolution. In recent years, I have been trying to deconstruct my own canons and conceptions of ceramics. This stage of my evolution involves a conflict between the established artist in me and the one in the making. In this evolution, I have to fight against the supposed logical sequence of my series and try to move towards the destruction of my fixed ideas. I still try to save some anchor points of the forms I have already created. In my compositions, I strive to achieve the catharsis of illogic; I want those who observe my creations to feel that this is the essential thing. And even if they do not share my perceptions, a dialogue of ideas occurs. The birth of a new thought around a work contributes to the continuation of its path. Of course, I will be happy to meet a soul who, in with my creations, could experience the emotions that I have placed in them.

What is the process of creating your works? Spontaneous or with a long preparatory process (technique, inspiration from art classics or other)?

The preparatory work takes me on average between 3 months and a year. The techniques I have developed push me to reuse objects already made - from my old works or from those of other people like randomly collected ceramic debris. For some of my projects, I draw inspiration from ancient ceramic shapes. For this, I create serial objects that then serve as a basis for thinking about a new sculpture. These can be, for example, small pots. Making this base by searching for debris or creating "archaeological" objects takes me a lot of time.

Do you use a particular working technique? If so, can you explain it?

Over the past seven or eight years, I have developed a working method that allows me to use techniques that are a priori incompatible for a single piece. I can then have in a creation details of form or material that are not usually seen in a single object. It is an almost unlimited technique that feeds my imagination in the search for new renderings. If I trust my personal technique algorithms, the form appears by itself: it is in a form of ceramic jazz.

Are there any innovative aspects in your work? Can you tell us what they are?

I think art has to be innovative to be called that. I try to bring innovations to all aspects of the process: in sketches, mass mixtures, modeling techniques, coating recipes, firing modes and methods. I am at the origin of each step of the creation of my objects. Among my personal methods, I superimpose the layers of coating - which requires several firings. Some of my creations have been fired up to 15 times. It is difficult to predict the texture and color of the final coating but most of the time its effects are incredible.

Do you have a format or medium that you are most comfortable with? If so, why?

For several years, I have been exploring abstract zoomorphic and anthropomorphic forms. I like to follow the evolution of the shape of my object when searching for composition or techniques. I like to compare the final form of my creations to a thread left in the Minotaur's labyrinth: if we pull on this thread, the creation untangles and we find its initial prototype.

Where do you produce your works? At home, in a shared studio or in your own studio? And in this space, how do you organize your creative work?

I have been practicing ceramics for about 25 years. When I started, I experimented with different ways of organizing my creation. I managed to reach my ideal in 2015 by being able to create in a space that I found beautiful. It is very important to have constant with the sculpture in its creative process - even if it can last several months. A misstep in this process can ruin all the efforts made before. It is therefore necessary that the dialogue with the material is not disturbed by surrounding noises. It is not about creating in solitude but rather being able to immerse oneself completely in creation. With the beginning of the war in Ukraine, I lost these working conditions. Today, a refugee in , I am forced to model my sculptures in the kitchen of my apartment and to fire them in the studio of other artists. It is sometimes difficult and uncomfortable, but if I stop creating, my existence will lose its meaning.

Does your job require you to travel to meet new collectors, for fairs or exhibitions? If so, what does it bring you?

Traveling, meeting people, fairs and exhibitions around the world are an indispensable part of being an artist. It is sometimes a difficult aspect, but I know that it is essential to the realization of a career. Before the invasion of Ukraine, I did not really need to travel because after twenty years of practice, I had managed to create stable living and working conditions. I could choose to participate only in the most important international competitions and exhibitions. After leaving Ukraine, I had to start all over again. Of course, I would have liked to continue working as before 2022, in my studio, because I prefer to devote myself entirely to creation rather than traveling to promote my creations. I hope that the publication of my works on Artmajeur will allow me to find a happy medium.

How do you imagine the evolution of your work and your career as an artist in the future?

I have been in the profession long enough to have an idea of the future I want for myself, but because of the war in my country, I have postponed my creative projects for the next 5 years. Failures and successes do not really influence my creation: I love ceramics too much to let external factors impact it. A grant from a private sponsor or a cultural fund would allow me to continue creating normally for the next 10 years. What I need most today is to have more time for creation and therefore to have to worry less about my living conditions.

What is the theme, style or technique of your latest artistic production?

For 6 years, I believe in my series of abstract-figurative sculptures, it is an almost infinite theme for me. What matters most to me in this series is not to find new forms but rather to explore new techniques to continue to elevate myself. The subject is only a canvas on which the material brings a subject. Of course, it is essential to understand the material used to let it express itself. I am convinced that an attentive observer is able to listen and grasp all the emotions that I have placed in my creation because ceramics does not hide its secrets, on the contrary it wants us to listen to it. By creating, I want to share with others what ceramics communicates to me.

Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?

The most important exhibition experience for me was my first solo exhibition in 2021 - "Light and Stone" in the Ivan Kavaleridze Museum Studio in Kyiv. I managed to bring together in one space a large part of my creations made in various techniques. At the time, this event seemed like an achievement to me; today, I see it more as a first step in my realization. I received very positive on this exhibition and I would like to be able to experience this pleasure again. I invited one of my favorite musicians, Andrei Kuzmenko from the band Skriabin [Скрябiн], to this event. He was inspired by one of my works ("the nice one" [Добряк]) and wrote a song about it. The painting in question can be seen in the video for the song. We did not manage to become friends because he died shortly after my exhibition, it was a real tragedy for Ukraine. Nevertheless, this first personal exhibition had aroused in me many beautiful perspectives and hopes.

If you could create a famous work in the history of art, which one would you choose? And why?

I would have liked to create Mendeleev's periodic table of elements. I see in this discovery as much genius as providence. When I create my sculptures, I try to guess the behavior of the material when fired in with certain elements. These are instincts that guide me and that become established recipes with experience. When you manage to predict the behavior of the material, you become one with it, you no longer need dialectics - then, you are with nature "you". The periodic table of elements is for me an incredibly harmonious and completely brilliant work. I often use it to create new coating recipes. And even if it has entered my daily life, it continues to inspire me. There are discoveries - like Mendeleev's table or the wheel - that have changed the course of history.

If you could invite any famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be? How would you suggest they spend the evening?

I will offer Van Gogh breakfast: coffee and cigarettes. In the morning, we are still a little free from our social role because when we sleep, the masks fall and only the authentic remains. I think that this is what makes Vincent Van Gogh's art so rich. His journey has inspired me since my childhood; more than his creations, it is his journey that inspires me, his faith in what he does. He lost his faith in God but found it again in painting.