Fine artist Pavel Gulaiev, best known for the subjective reality brought to life through an ever expanding collection of oil paintings, is both a connoisseur and a practitioner of contemporary art. While his work can be classed as surrealist in nature, the genre of contemporary art feels like a solid fit to describe Pavel’s work. But what does contemporary art mean? Well, it can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people as the term covers all manners of art styles and mediums.
The phrase contemporary art may bring visions of Marina Abramovic to mind, with her shocking performative art pieces exploring our nature as humans. Or maybe, you think of Yayoi Kusama and her infinite love of polka dots. Or, maybe the infamous “Girl With Balloon” that ended up in a shredder thanks to its creator and political activist Banksy.
No matter what your interpretation of this genre may be, suffice to say, contemporary art is truly all-encompassing and has sparked the curiosity and imaginations of many including Pavel himself. Join me, as I discuss contemporary art with Pavel to discover more about his interest in this topic alongside a collection of some of the contemporary works that he finds to be most inspiring.
It is very difficult to understand all areas of contemporary art. But I think there is no particular need for this. Everyone can find something close to their ideas about art, and this does not have to be an idea of beauty. For me, every direction of art is interesting, every work is wonderful if it is done with talent.
Pavel Guliaev
Interview with Pavel Guliaev
Contemporary art is such an extensive genre encompassing much of the work of the 20th
and 21st centuries. It includes everything from performance art, installations, street art and more. How would you personally define contemporary art?
Art in general, fine art in particular, arose as a decoration for religious rituals, starting with
images of animals hunted by ancient people, ending with images of divine acts in various religious movements. Performance is the cult rituals themselves, installations are sacred relics and objects, street art is preachers and celebrations, decorative art is the design of cult objects, and so on.
In my opinion, in contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries, everything is exactly the same as it was. Only, what used to be the design of religious rituals has become an expression of various philosophical ideas – from the search for the meaning of life to the philosophy of the absurd. Contemporary art allows every creator not only to express someone’s idea, but also to express himself to the extent of his own understanding of this world. And besides, modern art allows the artist themselves to create their own world, without even explaining its structure to the audience.
It is very difficult to understand all areas of contemporary art. But I think there is no particular need for this. Everyone can find something close to their ideas about art, and this does not have to be an idea of beauty. For me, every direction of art is interesting, every work is wonderful if it is done with talent.
I love your point about how contemporary art is just a modern version of what society has been doing for centuries. Do you think contemporary art could be described as a visual reflection of our society that simply changes and evolves as we do?
Yes, of course, art is a visual reflection of society that develops and changes with it. Changes happen both for both better and for worse, but that fact doesn’t matter. What’s important is that art lives and develops. Some of the basic foundations of art are preserved and new things will also appear. This, in my opinion, is the life of art, as well as the life of society and each of us individually.
I think there can often be the impression that art is inaccessible for many people due to things such as wealth, class and education. Do you think contemporary art is more accessible to people than they realise?
I think that anyone can create contemporary art, regardless of education. The main thing in this matter is to have at least a little talent, desire and diligence. But in order to understand contemporary art, you need special education or knowledge of art history and a desire to know what is happening in contemporary art. It has nothing to do with wealth or class.
Do you consider yourself as a contemporary artist?
Despite the fact that I work in the classical genre of figurative painting and paint oil paintings on canvas (which cannot be called an innovative painting technique), I consider myself a completely modern artist, since everything I do can be called and considered contemporary art.
You label yourself a contemporary artist even though you use more traditional techniques. Do you think you’ll ever experiment with more contemporary and innovative techniques within your work?
I paint with oil paints on canvas, I draw with pencil and paint with watercolour on paper, I want to make ceramics and wood sculpture. But, I also make videos on the computer based on my paintings, where I come up with a script and sound design. I use digital photographs and elements to help create the composition of my paintings, just as an artist would use a camera obscura for analog photography. So, I do fully utilise modern technologies and techniques alongside traditional ones.
I think that anyone can create contemporary art, regardless of education. The main thing in this matter is to have at least a little talent, desire and diligence.
Do you have any favourite contemporary artists/contemporary works that you’re particularly drawn to? If so, which ones and why?
There is a lot I still don’t understand about contemporary art. But, here is a list of some of the artists that are particularly close to me. Some of the artists I enjoy include Zdzislaw Beksinski, Giorgio de Chirico, Rene Magritte, Frida Kahlo, Max Ernst, Jacek Jerka, Andrea Couch, the entire new Leipzig school led by Neo Rauch, Adrian Ghenie, AES+F alongside many others. Unfortunately, my memory for the names of modern paintings is poor. All of these artists belong to the figurative direction of art, they all create their own reality, and do not copy the nature around them, and each of them has something to say that I find to be interesting.
How do you think contemporary art intersects with the subjective reality you create within your work?
I believe that all of the art that can be labelled as contemporary today, is in some way subjective. Today, there are no generally accepted canons in contemporary art that must be adhered to. Each artist creates their own and only their own subjective art.
How do you think contemporary art will evolve as we move forward? Do you think we’ll see changes in contemporary art? Maybe works influenced by or solely created using AI?
Yes, of course, in the near future more and more paintings will be created by AI. But, in my opinion, this is just another type that will only complement contemporary art. Like photography, installations, cinema, painting, sculpture, etc. – these are all just parts of universal art and they do not interfere with each other.
