Today we’d like to introduce you to Olya Dubatova.
Hi Olya, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was born in the Soviet Union, in a small town in the south of Russia. I was fortunate to find a painting teacher in a local art school when I was eight years old. He instilled in me a love for painting, and by the time I was ten, I was working with oils. Even though my family didn’t take it seriously, I was always happy to be in that class. As a child, I dreamed of traveling. One of the first books I read was “The Count of Monte Cristo,” along with many of Jules Verne’s stories. Despite knowing no one who had traveled abroad, I felt it was inevitable for me. I eventually got accepted to a university in Switzerland and left Russia.
Sometimes, it feels like another life. Since then, I’ve lived in Switzerland, Italy, Georgia, Mexico, and America. It’s been a continuous search for a place to call home. I love the state of discovery and the alertness that comes with new surroundings.
Now, I’m setting up a studio in Mexico City, where I plan to work for a while. I need to step away from the constant distractions of Los Angeles and New York to focus on my work.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This year marks 20 years since I left Russia. It’s fascinating how the narrative of my life’s events evolves over time. Moments that felt incredibly challenging at the time now seem to have happened by themselves. My first exhibition in Rome, moving to the United States, getting an artist green card, and obtaining American citizenship—all these milestones now feel like they just happened. Although I’ve been painting since childhood, I took a break to experiment with various other mediums, such as film, sound, and installations. For a long time, I felt a pull to be more outward-facing, to immerse myself in the world—meeting people, traveling—a very “yang” existence. Yet, the life of a painter, to me, is inherently “yin,” introspective, solitary within the studio with nothing but my ideas, paints, and canvas for company.
After living in America for several years, I reached a point where I yearned intensely for introspection, for solitude. This phase lasted about five years, during which I spent a lot of time in places like the Republic of Georgia and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For me, in the realm of painting, memory takes on a tangible state of being, revealing itself through the language of form and color. My meaning resides predominantly within the formal elements, particularly in the nuanced interplay of space and color, and texture.
I experiment a lot with paint itself; for a long time, I used only natural pigments, mixing them with tempera grassa – which is egg yolk vinegar and linseed oil, recently I have also been painting with oil because I found a good alternative to mineral spirits which is nontoxic. Currently, I am researching Japanese prints – proportions in their drawing, even the aspect ratio of the canvas.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
Safety is an illusion. In reality, true growth and fulfillment often arise from taking risks and embracing the unknown. Following one’s intuition or feelings is always a risk as it’s mostly about doing something very irrational, like out of nowhere moving to the Republic of Georgia, for example. I realize now that I need to live in a flow, not just be in the flow in my work – but I need the feeling of magic, and that always comes with huge risks and doing something everyone else thinks is insane – both in life and work. But that’s where the magic lies for me: in that state of being carried by the river of life after you’ve jumped from a very high cliff.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://olyadubatova.me/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olya.dubatova/
