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Katerina Belkina
Fish Called Wanda
100 x 66 cm
C-Print
Edition of 4 |
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 aterina Belkina is best known for her fine art photography. She often works with the recurring theme of lost innocence. There is something eerily enticing about Belkina’s self-portraits that produces an uneasy response in the viewer.
Born in 1974 in Samara, Russia, Belkina grew up in an artistic family and always knew she wanted to be an artist. She attended a public art middle school, and went on to study at the only academy of art in her city, Petrov-Vodkin. Classical technique was stressed throughout her education, an emphasis Belkina feels she benefited from, but, importantly, was not creatively constrained by. After graduating, Belkina worked successfully as a commercial photographer to support herself. Her photographic work has been included in publications such as National Geographic, Seventeen and Gala.
Understanding the importance of artistic freedom to be paramount, Belkina values the freedom from commercial work that recent recognition has accorded her. She has placed in various awards, including the Art Interview 14th International Online Artists’ Competition, the International Photography Awards, and the Kandinsky Prize in Moscow. Belkina’s work has also been exhibited at various institutions, including art4.ru Museum of Contemporary Art, in Moscow; Museè de Grenoble, in France; and in the Centre of contemporary art Winzavod. She is represented by galleries in Moscow, Paris and Heusden, Holland, where she has an upcoming exhibition. Belkina currently lives in Moscow and has international interest in her work.
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Katerina Belkina
Red Riding Hood. Justified cruelty
80 x 56 cm
C-Print
Edition of 9 |
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Katerina Belkina: I was born in 1974 in Samara, Russia on the river Volga. During the Soviet era the city was called Kuybyshev.
Art Interview: What was it like growing up there?
Katerina Belkina: Well, I was born into an artistic family: my mother was an artist and my father was a mathematician. I began drawing when I was about three-years-old. Later, when I became a bit older, my parents sent me to an art school. As far back as I can remember I’ve worked with my hands and drawn.
Art Interview: So, your parents were supportive of your aspiration to become an artist?
Katerina Belkina: Certainly. Because my mother is an artist, my parents took me to a lot of museums. We had plenty of literature on art and fiction at home. I looked things up, and therefore I knew a lot about art. Although my father, as far as his job was concerned, did not have anything to do with art, he has always been interested in it.
Art Interview: When did you realise that you wanted to become an artist?
Katerina Belkina: I always wanted to be an artist; there were no other options. (Laughs)
Art Interview: What school did you study art at and why did you choose it?
Katerina Belkina: I went to a public, classical art school. It was the best of the existing children’s institutions at the time. There was not much choice during the Soviet era anyway. Afterwards, when I was done with middle school, I went on to enter an academy of art named after Petrov-Vodkin; it was the only one in our city. The people there were very artistic. But looking back now, I realize that the style of instruction was too classical and rigid. It was not progressive. They were more focused on the past than the future. But there were positive aspects of studying there. We learned to work with our hands a lot. As far as applied arts were concerned, they taught us a little of everything - from icon painting to woodcarving. This was a big plus, I would say.
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Katerina Belkina
Aglaya And Her Secret Passions
100 x 66 cm
C-Print
Edition of 4 |
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Art Interview: Did your professors influence your work and career?
Katerina Belkina: No they did not, and I think that’s good. (Laughs) Again, because the style of instruction was so classical, they expected all of the students to paint in a certain way. If someone deviated from that their marks were immediately lowered. They told me, for example, that my paintings were too bright and too flat. It could have shattered my artistic vision, but my mother always told me, “Don’t pay attention to that, you need to do what you feel is right.” Thanks to her my individual mode of expression was saved.
Art Interview: Did you have role models that you emulated?
Katerina Belkina: There are two people whose opinion I value greatly: my mother and my friend Andrew Polushkin who is a painter. I would not say that he is my role model as such, but we support each other a lot by giving each other advice.
Art Interview: Are you able to support yourself financially with art and photography?
Katerina Belkina: Yes. Just recently, it has become much easier. My works are selling, and I can dedicate myself to my art.
Art Interview: You have worked as a commercial photographer for publications like National Geographic, Seventeen and Gala. How did you begin working in that direction?
Katerina Belkina: In the beginning I had to work commercially for financial reasons. I worked for a publishing house right after I graduated from the Academy. They produced magazines and newspapers and that is where my work was first published. I was still living in Samara and making art. I initially started photographing only as a hobby. Since then some of my more serious works have been published in Moscow starting in 2002. Once you start off in that business things happen very quickly. That world is very small. So, if you do work for one publisher, another publisher will see your work and call you. But if you focus primarily on commercial photography you will only develop those sets of skills. Commercial photography is not art and it is not very creative. I have distanced myself from it because my creative freedom is very important to me.
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Katerina Belkina
Thumbelina. Disappointment
80 x 56 cm
C-Print
Edition of 9 |
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Art Interview: What are the differences between commercial and fine art photography?
Katerina Belkina: Well obviously in commercial photography you try to fulfil the requirements of the client. It is very nice if your aspirations and inclinations coincide with the client’s and if you understand each other very well. Thankfully, I was really lucky in this respect and my clients wanted exactly what I wanted to make. So it was interesting to work with them. But commercial photography is nevertheless different from fine art. As an artist you are absolutely free to do anything.
Art Interview: Why exactly did you decide to become a professional photographer?
Katerina Belkina: It just happened naturally. I always knew that I would be an artist but I didn’t know the direction that I would work in for a long time. I could have ended up sewing clothes, drawing cartoons, making movies or photographing. I am, and have always been, a passionate person. It was difficult for me to concentrate on only one thing. But I developed a special feeling for photography. I cannot say that I only do photography, but rather that I do photography and fine art.
Art Interview: Did you have any problems approaching galleries with your work?
Katerina Belkina: Definitely - like most other artists I experienced some difficulties in the beginning. I have a good gallery representing me now but when I began it was very different.
There are only a few galleries in Moscow that deal with photography - just three in fact - although more are emerging now. Because of this there simply isn’t much choice. Since the market is so small each gallery has a distinct direction. They each have their own particular character and format. ‘Format’ is something that artists constantly have to confront. For example, in commercial photography if someone approaches a magazine with their work and that magazine only publishes smiling people, the photographer will not fit in if he or she does not comply with that. The same goes for galleries.
When I came to Moscow, the art scene was completely underdeveloped. No one attended gallery openings or exhibitions. It simply wasn’t popular. There were very few fans of art. The massive popularization of art only just happened two years ago. Since then many young people have become interested in art. Now “The Long Night of Museums” is crowded with masses of people.
Art Interview: How did you become involved with your first commercial gallery?
This oral history transcript is the result of a digitally recorded interview with Katerina Belkina on October 28, 2009. The interview took place at over the telephone between Berlin, Germany and Moscow, Russia. This interview was conducted and translated from Russian to English by Ivan Manev for Art Interview Online Magazine. Andrea Pahor wrote the introductory text. |
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