EPIFANIO 19

Aleksejs Naumovs is a great Latvian painter. He is a realist by style, paints only en plein air, superbly perceives the genius loci and the essence of buildings. He also has direct contact with nature. His pictures are old-fashioned in a good sense of the word – just as the entire Latvian art. He seem to have skipped the 20th century. And this makes him original. Naumovs doesn't care what the elephant thinks about him. He is an elephant himself. He resembles the great late-19th century artists, such as Kuindzhi, Levitan, Van Gogh and Gauguin. A true artist cares only for art – women, money and comforts are second-hand issues.

Aleksejs Naumovs painting in Burano

AN is a good friend of mine. We have painted together on an Italian island called Burano. I got to know him quite well there. The lightness with which Naumovs' work emerges from nature is amazing. And the colours – they are pure and sparkling. Pink, red and turquoise acquire special meaning in his works and create a certain magic chemistry or, rather, alchemy. As all great artists, A is a bit inconsiderate towards everything, although he is warm and polite. He occupies a significant place in Latvian cultural landscape – long-time rector of the Art Academy of Latvia, professor, laureate of innumerable domestic and foreign awards. He is indifferent to such things as well, using the Russian word „pofig“. We hereby ask AN a few questions.

Vilen Künnapu
Artist and architect
instagram.com/vilenkunnapu
vilenkunnapu.pri.ee

It is quite a complicated question, but I will do my best. I only paint en plein air. I choose locations carefully, sometimes driving 1000 km before I find the right place. Natural or architectural. I paint large formats – 1 x 1 m, 1 x 2 m, even 2 x 3 m. Painting en plein air is like a performance to me, together with everything it entails. I paint spontaneously, intuitively. A colour can be a theme by itself. Burano, Potomac River, Pyrenean cities – these places present their own moods, frequency. I get the motive through myself, get my own vision, code. I paint quickly and do not make corrections afterwards. I am currently in the town of Canet-en-Roussillon in southern France where I paint and then exhibit the works.

Favourites change, some remain. I like colour, hence Vlaminck, Derain, Matisse, Dufy. And the keywords spontaneous painting. If the light is strong, it can be made even stronger. I've just been to the town of Collioure, where Fauvism was born. Besides the already mentioned, Picasso and Signac visited it too. I like renaissance. Red, green, yellow, blue shades. Pietro del Francesco, Giotto etc. In Latvian art, I like Valters, Ubans, Purvitis, Skulme, Strunke.

When I was young I painted portraits and landscapes. I felt that it should be like this. I can paint anywhere outdoors. I feel free. I paint through myself. Nature has many elements. I see first of all colour, light and shade. The houses in Canet are red, shadows change quickly – you need to paint fast. Composition is in place immediately. I don't do any preliminary drawing, or sketches.

I am fascinated with architecture. I like your Snail Tower (with Ain Padrik – Ed.) in Tartu. It has a spiral, cosmos, everything. Architecture that I paint is in Italy, France, Latvia. Chiaroscuro game can sometimes produce a surreal result. I occasionally paint architecture in the wrong way, on purpose. Man participates in a painting, but he stands behind me and is also looking at the picture. Very seldom a small figure appears in the picture, more often a cat or a dog. Atmosphere is crucial. Charm and mystery. Genius loci must be captured. Metaphysics appeals to me as well. Long shadows, I sometimes make them even longer and stronger. It happens from time to time that I make a mistake on purpose. I break perspective. It is important to organise architecture. Scale can be altered too. I like de Chirico, futurists Boccioni, Carra, Marinetti. I also like the Russian Rayonnists.

What do you think of Eastern Europe, where is Latvia in it? Is western culture decaying?

In Eastern Europe painting is alive and well. Here is plenty of naivety and affection. In Latvia, too, certain virginity has survived. In France where I am now I notice cynicism, denial and pessimism in art. Art fairs have practically no paintings. I am quite exceptional here with my exhibition. I was recently in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. There, on the other hand, you see power, openness and naivety in a good sense.

We visited the Kazakh pavilion at the Venice art biennial together. It offered a lot of mysticism and magic. I also like the Kazakh band A-Studio and Foster's huge energy tower. Is there more fascinating stuff?

They have good films, painters, music and everything else. Atmosphere and energy are good. I think that eastern energy is actually feeding new phenomena in the whole world. After all, the sun raises from the east.