Paul Zimmerman in conversation with Mira Satryan
Paul Zimmerman: You were born in Poland and studied art in Krakow. How did it influence your work?
Mira Satryan: It was quite the opposite. The fact that I lived in New York changed my painting. The colors of my paintings have changed to more colorful. In such a large group of people from all over the world, a different culture, everything is different, big, interesting ….. On the artist it must be impressive … I was stunned by this view and the atmosphere
PZ: When did you develop interest in art?
MS: I already thought about it in primary school. Secondary school, I chose already with the addition of all art subjects … High School of Fine Arts
PZ: Your paintings are resolutely abstract. Why attracts you in this visual language?
MS: At the beginning, I painted in a more representational way, often figuratively. Later, I focused on more graphic forms, combined with color … I came to more abstract forms through the process of creating. I am still working on a more simplified form, in which, however, you can express more ….. but I believe that painting is colors. Once upon a time, Eugene Delacroix used to say: “the colors are music to the eyes, because they can be juxtaposed like notes”
PZ: How do you select titles for your paintings?
MS: I never do it routinely …. Sometimes I already have the title of a painting before painting, because I think about what I would like to paint.
Sunset, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 40” x 40”
PZ: There is a sense of ephemerality in your work. Does it reflect your sensibility?
MS: Yes, I am aware of our fragile existence, I am aware that nothing is permanent, everything passes away …. I often don’t finish my paintings, I come back later and continue to paint or I change everything …
PZ: Do you have any particular goal in mind when your start a new piece?
MS: I usually paints for numerous artistic events … for exhibitions, competitions in which I participate. Painting makes me feel relaxed. Mentally, it feels good if I manage to finish the painting fairly quickly …
PZ: How do you define yourself as an artist?
MS: I am not a realist painter, so I am an unrealistic artist … this is how I would describe it ..
PZ: Which artists are you most influenced by?
MS: Impressionists are my immediate epochs, especially Paul Gouguin. I saw the first large collection at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, which made a great impression on me. There are many great masters of painting, but I must mention the long-admired, Greek, Spanish artist El Greco, considered a precursor of Expressionism and Cubism. Years ago, I saw his original paintings in Bucharest in the Museum.
PZ: What are you working now?
MS: I finished my painting for the competition exhibition in Poland. And I am also painting for the international exhibition at the gallery in Chelsea
PZ: Does this pandemic impact your work and sensibility?
MS: The pandemic is a depressing thing for everyone, but I think artists feel it more deeply, which many express in their work. Staying at home more often also prompts you to work intensively and this sometimes allows you to break away from the gray reality.