Interview with Janna Shulrufer
Growing up in Moscow, how did your early environment shape your interest in art, and which aspects of that upbringing still influence your work today?
The beginning was laid in the family - I grew up in an atmosphere of art and literature. My dad was an engineer by profession, but all his life he has been interested in art, loves painting and was once a good painter himself. Art and poetry were his hobby, to which he devoted all his free time. My mother worked as an editor at a book publishing house all her life. In our house we had a large library and many books on art. Dad always took me with him to museums and exhibitions. When I was eight years old, he took me to the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, and from then on these places became sacred to me throughout my childhood and youth. I had real masterpieces before my eyes, I saw them live and directly, not just in albums, catalogues and through a computer screen. Everything that I saw in childhood and youth - artworks of Ancient Art, Russian, Western European art - will remain with me, in my heart and in my memory. This is imprinted in my consciousness and subconscious and naturally influences my work.
You work in various genres and techniques. Which medium do you find most fulfilling to work with, and why?
I paint everything I see, hear, feel, smell and touch. I can say that in the process of work I use all my senses. And of course, intense mental activity, without which an artist, in my opinion, simply cannot realize his plans... I work in different genres - landscape, portrait, still life. I want to express myself both figuratively and abstractly. My favorite techniques are watercolor, oil, pastel, drypoint. I really like to draw with ink. There is black ink on snow-white paper, it is beautiful, just like white pastel on a black background. I really respect watercolor for its transparency, tenderness and unpredictability. Oil is considered the queen of painting, I love the smell of oil paints and turpentine. Drypoint is an ancient medieval technique; Durer and Rembrandt worked with it. I studied this technique in the workshop of Ilya Bogdanovsky in the House of Artists in Tel Aviv... The subjects of my artworks are quite diverse. For example, I have a serie of oil painting dedicated to the Tanakh - my interpretation of biblical stories and characters. I have series of abstracts, a series of nudes, and a series of city landscapes made in oil and watercolors.
Being a part of the Artists' Community of Safed and working in the Artist's Colony there, how does this unique environment inspire and influence your work?
I can talk for hours about the artists and sculptors who founded the Artist’s Colony in Safed, even before the creation of the state. They began to come from Europe in the 20-30s of the XX century, settled in the ancient city and created unique works of art. After the Second World War and the proclamation of the State of Israel, a new galaxy of talented artists arrived who survived the Holocaust, and the tragedy they experienced was often reflected in their artworks. In 1952, the community of artists and sculptors officially formed the General Exhibition (Professional Creative Union). In the 90s, a new generation of artists from the former Soviet Union arrived. They brought a fresh spirit to the artistic life of Israel and greatly influenced the further development of Israeli culture. The ancient city of Safed, known as the center of the mystical teachings of Kabbalah, the narrow streets and ancient oriental architecture, as well as the picturesque landscapes of the Galilee - all this inspires me and influences my work.
How has your artistic style evolved since you began your career, and what have been some pivotal moments in this evolution?
It seems to me that I myself have changed even more than my style. I have drawings from more than twenty years ago, when I lived in Tel Aviv and went to A-Yarkon Park to paint landscapes en plein air and I went to the embankment to paint the sea and sailboats. At the same time, I visited the studio of a sculptor - a new immigrant from France - where we painted nudes. My pencil drawings of those years were more academic - the Moscow school took its toll. A key moment in my career as an artist was moving to Safed. For me it was like a breath of fresh air. Come and see for yourself, the air in Galilee is really very fresh.
Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you approach the conception and execution of a new piece?
Momentary vivid impressions at almost every step - a narrow street with a lantern, a house with fancy windows and doors, a tree in the courtyard, a musician playing at the Klezmer festival (an annual festival of Jewish music), a woman with a child, a cat basking in the sun... I make sketches with nature in an album, I remember something, sometimes I take photographs... Then I use all this in my work... When an idea matures, I prepare a canvas or paper. I start with an idea, then in the process of work I change something, add something, sometimes the result can be unexpected, completely different from the original idea. I have a lot of spontaneous and intuitive things in the process of my work, and as a result there are a lot of allegories and metaphors. I choose media depending on the genre, topic and mood.
Your artworks are displayed internationally. Do you feel that your art represents or connects with specific cultural narratives or themes, especially considering your diverse international audience?
As an Israeli artist, everything related to my country and my people is close to me. At the same time, I always talk about myself and what personally touches me, awakens curiosity and interest in me, this is such a unique stream of consciousness in different genres and techniques, but in one plastic language. I would like to think that in my artworks you can also find something that is interesting to all people, regardless of their nationality, race and culture. There are eternal themes, but the difference is in their interpretation. In my opinion, the main thing for an artist is to be sincere.
