Who are you and where are you from ?
My name is Alina Eliza Smocov, visual artist and I have 37 years old. I live in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. I am an international artist who exhibit artworks in different countries all over the world. In July 2013 I graduated Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, The Netherlands. On my website, www.smocovalina.nl, you can see my artworks and find out more information about me. You can see my publications, art exhibitions, collaborations, and projects.
Can you tell us about your latest projects ?
- My latest projects were participating with Dutch artists in Kunstroute Kralingen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and 2 group exhibitions with Spanish artists. One exhibition was in Hostel Calatrava Luxury , Sevilla (Spain) and the other one was in ArtJaén 2016 in Museo De Jaén, Spain. I am very proud to exhibit with Spanish artists because they are very talented artists. I promote my art in The Netherlands, Spain and I hope in future to exhibit my art in USA.
What message do you want people to receive from your artwork ?
To be an artist has been my persistent drive. I am searching for serenity, calmness and purity as well as pure existence.A very important moment in my life was to stay ten minutes in silence during a Taize praying. That moment was so profound that I wanted to incorporate it in my artworks. I am searching for the deeper meaning of silence. My artworks show how I experience silence, namely as a moment of power, reflection, meditation, concentration, loneliness, illusion. The whole world is full of sounds, informations, deadlines. I want to find a balance in life and share my experiences with the others, so that they also can calm down.By my art I want to show the world that silence is essential for surviving and that there is not enough silence in our society today. I hope I can offer to the world a little bit of serenity.
Do you remember your first creative work, the moment you knew that you were an artist?I remember I was a kid and I love to draw and colored with markers. The first drawings were representing landscapes from my surroundings, some family members and yellow ducks. My mother always punish me by braking my drawings and throw them in the trash because I wanted all the time to create. I realized that breaking the drawings was so painful and that it is a passion, but my mother did not realize it. When I had 13 years old, in my painting lesson , my painting teacher observe that I love to paint. During the painting lesson, all the children need to choose to paint one of the houses in front of our school. All the children stayed to paint till the end of the art lesson, but I stayed more. I was so concentrated that I didn’t realized that It was late and I am still painting. I felt one with the painting. I knew in that moment I will be an artist. The painting teacher talk with my mother and ask her to transfer me to the art school. When I enter in the art school, I felt that it’s my world. I realized that it is my big passion.
Who are your favorite artist and inspirations ?
I am inspired by artists like Cindy Sherman, Robert Ryman, Maaike Schoorel and Rob Sweere. I admire in them their creativity and the way they use the different media to express themselves. They help me discovering my authenticity and create my own artistic vision. The contact with other artists and their works helps me to develop further my skills and to reflect deeper about the meaning of my artworks. They stimulate me to order my thoughts and find the concentration I need to guide my instincts.
Recently I feel inspired by contemporary Spanish artists like Luis Garcia Mozos, Eloy Morales, Edgar Noe Mendoza Mancillas and Carmen Mansilla. They help me deepen my painting technique and advised me to exhibit in Spain and United States of America.
What tools do you use to create ?
I consider myself a multidisciplinary artist because I like to use different field of art to express in art. I like to draw, to paint ,to make etchings, collages, photographs and create installations.
Usually I start by making photographs. They are like ”sketches” and contain a moment and allow me to build up my work. From the photographs I choose a fragment to make etchings. I made different aquatints in different color layers. The effect is that the colors are dissolving in each other and creates a foggy and water image. This method I apply in my paintings, by creating the same effect in oil colors.
Recently I started to use Photoshop more often to create a new image as basis for my paintings. In my conceptual paintings, I changed the natural colors and in this way I made reference to sculpture or relief. I am interested in the relationship between background and objects represented. I define details to give the viewer a feeling of illusion. My palette of colors is now composed of grey tones and white. I observed how multiple white layers on top of each other can soften and deepen an image. This applies in particular to my etchings. Gradually, the details became minimal. The larger canvases enabled me to leave more space for emptiness which invites more for reflection. Also the preparation of the canvas can be a source of inspiration.
This year I started new realistic paintings where I paint portraits of women and children. In this way I hope to achieve more clients.
Where can we see more of your art, what other places has your work published ?
On my website you can see all the information about me, my exhibitions, projects and a selection of my best artworks till now.
In May 2015 I have my first interview with the Dutch writer & Cultural Entrepreneur Walter van Teeffelen. The interview was published online, you can see all the article on this link:
http://ifthenisnow.eu/nl/verhalen/internationaal-doorgebroken-14-alina-smocov
In 29 October 2016 I was invited by Humor Latino TV in Amsterdam where I have an interview in Spanish language. During my interview they filmed my new realistic paintings.
What do you see yourself doing in 20 years ?
I see myself in in my own studio, painting full time and exhibiting my artworks in different art galleries and art museums all over the world. I know it’s very difficult to be realized but if I will work very hard I could realize many beautiful things in my life.
If you could work on a creative project with anyone in the world from any period in time who would it be ? I would like to live in the 16th century because I could meet Spanish and Dutch artists and find out all the secrets of the etching and painting techniques.
Any last words you would like to say to the Section 8 Magazine readers worldwide ?
I am very proud that Section 8 Magazine wants to publish an interview about me in their magazine. I hope that a lot of people will read my interview and I hope to get more recognition as an artist. I hope that some magazine readers will be interested in collaboration with me or helping me to get more art galleries or museums worldwide where I can exhibit my artworks.
Check out: www.smocovalina.nl and see more Alina Smocov artworks.
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