Today we’d like to introduce you to Vian Borchert.
Hi Vian, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was born into an art household. My mother and everyone from her side is an artist or does something in the arts. My father is more scientific, yet he collects and appreciates art. I was born with a natural gift, so to say. As far as I can remember, I have always done art. I remember sitting down at my desk and sketching away the days. As a child, I used to make comic-style art and make my own stories to go along with the illustrations. I grew up with encouraging parents and my school principal and teachers also noticed my artistic talent and encouraged me to pursue it. Art came so naturally to me; it is similar to a language and as essential to me as eating and sleeping. Throughout growing up, I have been awarded with art awards along with merits and scholarships. I am a graduate and “Notable Alumni” from the Corcoran College of Art & Design George Washington University. After graduation, I traveled internationally since I believe travel is essential in one’s growth and allows one to open their eyes to the wonderful cultures and landscapes the world has to offer. Through my travels, I met a lot of artists and art admirers from different countries and exhibited in a number of group and solo exhibitions beyond the US. Year in and year out with utter dedication to my art craft and my artistic career and path, steadily I grew into the artist that I am today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wouldn’t say it has been a smooth road. Although I studied art, the general public around me frowned upon such a choice since there is the cultural belief that if you don’t study law or medicine then you don’t amount to much. Hence, early on in my career, there was a struggle in allowing myself to be a creative person while still managing to fit into society’s norms. Thus, I was juggling a number of non-related art jobs such as working as an account manager in a financial company and doing translation in the medical field during the daytime while creating art during the nighttime. In a way, I joke and say my early journey is similar to the one of famous writer Franz Kafka where he was an insurance clerk by day while at night, he wrote his “Metamorphosis” novel and masterpiece. Nevertheless, despite the fact that I am a person of multi-talent, I felt that the 9-5 desk job was suffocating to the creative free thinker of a person that I am and to my sense of identity. Eventually, the artistic nature within me took over and I left the finance world to the fine art world. It is true though, throughout growing up as an artist, I felt as if I was defying the odds with every painting, I created to simply say I exist as an artist. My decisions and art career became more serious when my father suffered a heart attack (thankfully he survived it) yet such life and death situations reaffirmed my decision to stick with art for the long haul and to accelerate my journey within this path and my art production overall.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an expressionist artist and an award-winning poet; I consider all my artwork to be visual poems. I am also an avid nature lover. As an artist, contemplation and observation on the world around me is of utmost importance to my work. Nature and the environment move me like no other. My artwork is an accumulation of my dreams, my journeys, and what caught my eyes at a specific moment in time. I aspire through my work that not only for me but for the world to return to many feel-good emotions: a return to hope, a return to dream, a return to love, and a return to art. My specialty is expressionist and abstracted work on canvas with heavy emphasis on the painterly aspect of who I am as a painter and as a visual artist. My medium is acrylic on canvas. I specialize in paintings that depict the world around me from atmospheric seascapes where the color blue plays a major role to green landscapes that capture my love for the environment and a gratitude to mother nature for the endless bounties it bestows upon humanity. Moreover, as an architect at heart, my cityscape paintings are an ode to the beauty of marvelous buildings and wondrous architecture that I encounter while on travel. All of these themes are delivered to the viewer through my abstracted and minimal touch of modern aesthetics. As anyone can imagine, there have been lots of ups and downs through the long journey of being an artist, yet I am most proud of all of my accomplishments such as exhibiting my artwork in museums and noted venues and publications. Most recently, my artwork has been on exhibit in a world-class museum: the SAM Museum in Pennsylvania, and also my work was in a digital billboard exhibit in Times Square – Broadway Plaza in NYC. Standing there and experiencing such events and accomplishments Live and in real-time filled me with gratitude to where this journey has led me and to what the universe has in store for me. Besides such achievements, I am most proud of my children who are my pride as joy. I feel that I need to do my utmost and best of work to leave the young generation with a better world since the children are our future. What sets me apart from others is that I am a true unique thinker and a very creative person. I believe I have changed at least the art world through my singular vision and dedication to the arts. I also feel that the world sees and appreciates my visionary creativity, talents, and work that I share with the world.
My artwork can be found at auction houses and luxury marketplaces “1stDibs” and “Artsy”.
Link for Borchert’s artwork at “1stDibs”:
https://www.1stdibs.com/creators/vian-borchert/art/
Link for Borchert’s artwork at “Artsy”:
https://www.artsy.net/artist/vian-borchert
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I am a hopeless romantic, a dreamer, and an endless positive person, which means I don’t see negative things and I rarely dislike much. I always turn things around to see them from a different point of view to see their raw beauty. I love the simple pleasures in life. For me, just a walk on a sandy beach while watching the sunrise and listening to the gentle waves fills me up with so much pleasure and gratitude. Considering that I come from Mediterranean descent, I feel LA is very similar visually with its seascape and geographic landscape and nature to that of the Mediterranean region. Thus, the beautiful landscape and seascape engulf me with feel-good emotions that are beyond words. The LA area also has some of the most beautiful tall palm trees I have ever seen. So, these natural elements from palm trees and the deep blue ocean to the curvy scenic roads are absolutely breathtaking in every sense of the word.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vianborchert.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vianborchert/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VianBorchertFineArts
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ViansArtCorner
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/vianborchert
- Other: https://www.artsy.net/search?term=vian%20borchert
Image Credits
Vian Borchert
Oliver Borchert
