Upclose with Anna Berezovskaya
A rising star in the European art scene, Russian painter Anna Berezovskaya, 23, is young, talented and famous. She talks to Penny Zhou about fairytales and young stardom.
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HK Magazine: Tell us something about your series, “Modern Romanticism.”
Anna Berezovskaya: It is the view of my own world. I created this fantasyland where all the people there are kings, princes, princesses and knights, and I kind of live in it. I believe deep down in their hearts, everybody wants to be a prince or princess.
HK: Do those ideas come from fairytales?
AB: Totally! Especially when I was little, my parents were always busy working so I was left home alone all the time. Being an imaginative kid I loved reading fairytales and then started creating my own. When I became a painter, those fantasies naturally reflected in my paintings.
HK: How did you become a painter?
AB: My parents sent me to art school when I was nine, but they never wanted me to pursue a painting career. I had to be self-supported when I turned 17 though, so I had no choice but to produce paintings and sell as many as I could.
HK: And now you’re successful and famous at such a young age. How does that affect your life?
AB: Every painter wants to be successful and well known, and I know I’m blessed to have achieved a lot at 23. But I’m a workaholic so for me the fame and money hasn’t changed my life that much. I just spend most of my time at work, as always.
HK: Any interesting anecdotes from previous exhibitions?
AB: Oh yes. Once they exhibited a painting of mine of a fat woman staring at a lot of delicious food locked in a cage. A woman came to me and told me she would buy that painting to hang on the wall of her daughter’s bedroom to urge her to go to diet! I had never thought my painting could serve such a practical purpose. Haha!.
HK: Your exhibitions always sell out. Why do you think people like your artwork so much?
AB: I guess they like the coloring and composition of my paintings because they look pleasant. Also, a lot of painters nowadays are very keen on making their artwork political. They paint to announce their ideologies. That’s good, but doesn’t work for me. I just love painting beautiful and peaceful scenes. And I think everybody likes pure beauty, serenity and happiness.