(photo by ukatephoto.com)
For some people creativity is a state of living - a condition which guides their every day and possesses their mind until the daily potion of creative sparks finds their way out onto a canvas, into the musical notes or instrument chords - until these sparks become something that we, the voyeurs, the public can decode and devour.
Sholpan Sharbakova is a classically trained pianist, soloist, laureate of international competitions and festivals, yet music is only one of her creativity codes. "Musical notes always had a physical presence for me" says Sholpan, "I heard colour when I started playing piano at four years old". In the long standing tradition of artists musicians like P. Klee and W. Kandinssky, music and painting merge creating a unique artistic journey.
(photo by ukatephoto.com)
"As a musician I play classics, following the notes of the great musicians, there is no improvisation at all. But painting is different - it is an improvisation, a composition and a visionary condition which holds me in trance until the canvas is ready."
Windows - Liberated Canvas, the latest series in Sholpan Sharbakova's work, are part of her first major solo exhibition, held at Macdougalls Fine Art Auctions, presented by IF Foundation. The series have also earned Sholpan a title of 'top 5 artists to invest into' by SNC magazine.
Every Window tells a story - a story of liberation. The canvases are draped around the frame rather than shaped by its form. Their liberation creates a dialog with the space, their unorthodox form contains a message to decode. "I wanted to draw attention to the canvas and, by changing its purpose, to express the importance of experiment, liberation from the norm, dogmas which surround our lives and prevent us from dreaming".
This series have been in the making for two years and currently Sholpan has nine Windows - large canvases descending from the walls and frames that they are nailed to. "The Windows are a big format, because they have such an important meaning for me. They are windows of change, liberation, journeys. They also possess an illusionist quality, by giving depth to the wall and space around them, inviting people to look in".
(photo by ukatephoto.com)
These Liberated Canvasses represent the thoughts of those who look inside, in the same way as a window of the house. "I always thought that there is mystery behind every window we pass, an opportunity for imagination theatre which pushes you to break the boundaries and create silent improvisations".
(photo by Julia Flit Photography)
Storytelling is at the heart of Sholpan's work. "I work on the paintings one at a time, in a meditative state which deprives me of time and surroundings until I have said everything, until the canvas tells the story".
It's not surprising that books and literary references have a powerful influence over Sholpan's work: "I read all the time, whole hours every day as I have to commute long hours. Castaneda inspires me with his otherworldly perspective on humans as cosmic dust. We are nothing but out of nothing we have to create. This I believe is the condition you have to be in to create - a trance, in which you gather the cosmic dust together".
(photo by Julia Flit Photography)
Theoretical essays on Art by Kandinssky helped Sholpan to develop her own vision and theory. A painter- musician Kandinssky believed in the special code that art and music have combined. Sholpan now speaks of her own artistic license: "I believe that Art is a musical code where each colour and half tone has its own note". A blue of intense dark palette is always C Sharp Major - the colour of classicism and revival of the energy of the mind. It's Bach, it's the highest form of being, a tone which lights up the canvas. Bach is that absolute perfection of the blue, a deep colour that you can fall into".
There is a lyrical leitmotif in Sholpan's work, something that she calls 'crude poetry'. "'I am a romantic. Romance is my credo".
Sholpan's "Windows - Liberated Canvas" runs at Macdougalls until 14th December.
(photo by Julia Flit Photography)
The exhibition was made possible by Iulia Filipovscaia, founder of IF Foundation, a platform which promotes the work of upcoming artists. "I have been lucky' says Sholpan. Representation is one of the most important factors for an artist as marketing is really not my strength: people like Iulia Filipovscaia and Madina and Marianna Gogovy, founders of ARTWIN gallery, Indira Dyussebayeva from IADA association, have been incredible - an artists dream".
(photo by Julia Flit Photography)