Contemporary artist Maria Agureeva focuses on the tension between what is considered real versus subjective in relation to the human body.
I work with two main, big themes. These are body image issues in society and relationships between the global human body and the body of nature.
Featured image: Solo show ‘ You can imagine what will remain after ‘ at Anna Nova gallery.
Maria Agureeva, in studio. Los Angeles. Image courtesy: Daria Usanova.
How did your tryst with art begin?
Since my early childhood, I have been involved in art. Choosing this path was not a big step or decision for me because I already saw myself as an artist even then. My process of becoming a contemporary artist was organic. The only thing is, originally, I didn’t start doing contemporary art, I came to it from photography. My first milestone as an artist was my first solo exhibition, held in 2012 in Moscow. Since then, my process has been like a ball of thread which I’m still unraveling. For me, art has become a great way of learning about myself, my own challenge to myself and the way forward. My journey is one from which it is impossible to return unchanged. I wake up as a new person every morning and have art to thank for this.
What is the primary role of a contemporary artist? How do you describe yourself in the context of challenging people’s perspectives via your work?
I think that artists are like holes in space. The ideas, problems and questions that are troubling society are channeled through artists. For me, this is an accurate metaphor for the art process.
I work with two main themes. In my artwork, I focus on the tension between what is considered real versus subjective in relation to the human body. And the second theme that I am interested in is real v/s fake. This is where I explore the relationships between the human body and the body of nature. I started getting into the second theme relatively recently. This was just two years ago, when I moved from Moscow to Los Angeles.
I start working with a theme when I myself go through a certain experience; for me, it is always a process that I myself have experienced or come into contact with.
Fragment of a sculpture. Untitled. Plastic, wood, synthetic fabric, mixed media, 49’’28’’27’’. 2019.
How do you deal with the conceptual difficulty and uncertainty of creating new work?
For me, it is an organic process: I have an idea, a concept for my future project, and almost immediately an image of my future work appears in my head. Then, I manage this process. I prepare a brand-new dish in a large cauldron heated by fire burning inside me.
I rarely draw sketches. Mostly, I work directly with the material. I make small sketches only for video installations.
What inspires you?
This is probably what I like talking about the most. The two main, big themes that I work with are: body image issues in society and relationships between the global human body and the body of nature. Situations that I noticed accidentally, have always inspired me. How people perceive and treat their bodies and how we look at and evaluate each other’s physicality. I was working closely with the topic of physicality when I lived in Moscow. The issues of feminism, body image and attitude towards one’s own body are still very controversial in Russia. I often encountered this in my own life and could not help reflecting. That was how my works such as ‘Spatial relations in anatomical terminology’, a series of sculptures titled ‘Pieces of artist’, a video installation, ‘Dust’ and a performance ‘Passing’ came into being.
Later, I became interested in the topic of interaction between the global body of humanity and the body of nature. This happened when I moved to Los Angeles. This city is the most unique place where we can see the outlines of the future. Where our culture completely mixes in with the landscape, can be seen. Los Angeles comes close to this image. Natural reserves and national parks surround this city. It is bustling, active and modern at the same time.
Let’s talk about your frameworks, references and process.
I started making works based on the interaction of humankind with the environment. I had not realised how important it is for me to interact closely with nature. After moving to LA, it became obvious to me. I was born in Ukraine and I spent a lot of time in our garden, interacting with wildlife and animals. But after my family moved to Russia, this connection ended. And I had a personal revelation, this incredible opportunity to be in close connection with nature is essential.
The human must be in contact with nature in order to be in harmony with yourself. Understanding all this prompted me to work with a lot of natural materials. I started using charred wood and debris, fragments of trees I found after the fires that rage in California every year and their area is growing annually. Fires in my works are a metaphor for the absorption process, our mindless attitude to natural resources. Charred spots are like scars on a person’s body, reminders of what happened. This is all very inspiring to me.
Untitled. Wood (sequoia), leather, plastic, mixed media, 22”17”6”. 2019.
Think of the biggest professional risk you’ve taken. What helped you take that risk?
I think being an artist is a profession where you should always take risks. The profession itself is a risk, starting from the moment an artist graduates from college and begins their path.
Tell us about your art studio, what kind of place is it? Could you describe your usual work-day?
At the moment, my artist studio can be wherever I want it to be. Most of my work is now done on a computer. In March 2020, I was focusing on my new video installation and didn’t do any sculpture at all. But this period is coming to an end. My dream studio is my garage and back yard in LA, the climate of California allows you to work outdoors almost all year round, as I work with large sculptures, it is very convenient, I do most of the work in the open, for me it is an ideal working environment.
Studio. Los Angeles.
Are you more of a studio artist or naturally collaborative by nature?
I’d say that now my work process is 50/50. I spend a lot of time collecting natural materials for my sculptures. When I find a particular object, I can almost immediately see what kind of sculpture it will be. Going out into nature in search of new materials for my sculptures is like a dynamic meditation for me. I am in a special state, unlike anything else, my body travels quite long distances. The journey is far from easy but my mind is already seeing images of new sculptures. Sometimes I create audio recordings with texts for my new projects.
Four months ago, I finished video shooting for my new video installation, ‘Garden of the Future’. I was travelling the national parks of California for about four months. I was shooting videos in areas that were damaged after the fires. For the last three to four months, I’ve been spending time editing at the computer, finishing the work. After I complete the process of collecting materials in nature for my work, they can be stones, wood, animal bones, shells or video footage of nature, I go on to the stage of working in the studio and usually my working time is divided in half. Sometimes I mix these processes, depending on the mood.
How does your audience interact and react to the work you put out into the world?
When I communicate with the audience, I garner more of an understanding. I have learnt that the themes I work with are interesting and exciting to a large number of people. I am always discussing how people see these problems. Oftentimes, my projects gain new perspectives for me. I am interested in the process when my work becomes more than just a project.
Solo show ‘ You can imagine what will remain after ‘ at Anna Nova gallery.
What are you working on now?
I’m continuing to work on my new video installation, ‘Garden of the future’. This is a multi-channel video installation accompanied by sound art by sound artist/composer Dario Duarte from Argentina. Currently, videos for 4 channels are ready. For one of the channels, I used a video of a tree that I found on the grounds of Leo Carrillo State park. In 2018, a fire almost completely destroyed this area in Southern California. There, I discovered a tree that had amazingly remained alive inside despite being completely burned out on the outside. Its burnt bark was crumbled in some areas. I filled these bare-wood holes with breathing, moving flesh, made in computer graphics.
I have been using a contrast of synthetics and natural surfaces in my artworks. This combination was particularly evident in my sculptures. The artificial inserts have become more alive than the natural textures. The fragile balance between nature and unnatural synthetics is what interests me. I am interested in how surrogates can replace reality, specially, if it is more and more difficult for us to distinguish one from the other.
What’s coming next season?
This video work was planned to be displayed in August this year in Copenhagen for the first time. But now, the curator has decided to postpone this event to next year because of the pandemic. The exhibition plans for this year are very vague. I continue to work, but I’m not thinking about dates. Two of my exhibitions which were scheduled for spring and summer 2020 are now postponed to next year.
Untitled. Plastic, burnt wood, synthetic fabric, mixed media, 35”22”14”, 2019.
How has this affected your practice and plans?
I just did what I had planned all along, which is to work on the video.
For enquiries contact: alina.kryukova [at] a-s-t-r-a [dot] com
Before you go – you might like to browse our Artist Interviews. Interviews of artists and outliers on how to be an artist. Contemporary artists on the source of their creative inspiration.