OC: Welcome to Ovenden Contemporary Anna. You seem to belong to several different places. Is there anywhere that you feel at home?
AL: I used to feel at home in
New York City, but since the past year I consider London
home. Although, I don't think I belong anywhere really.
OC: Not even
Italy?
AL: Not even
Italy, as I've been living abroad for the past ten years
and my identity shaped up during my travelling. When I was
in Italy I was just trying to fit in to the standard and I
wasn't happy. I start to discover myself only after I left
Italy.
OC: So you
don't want to fit in to any 'standard'? Who is Anna
then?
AL: Anna is a
person who honestly likes to create art and to provoke
positive emotion to the viewer. Anna would like not to take
too seriously herself and the world around her. Maybe I
have a spoiled attitude but with a sincere purpose.
OC: Do you
think your mobility has affected the way you see the world?
We call it your 'tourist's perspective'. Are you able to
stay partly 'remote' from your surroundings because you
know that you will move on at some
point?
AL: Yes. I
think the advantage of moving so often is the fact that I
don't feel commited to anything and anyone. Although, at
the moment I like to settle down and maybe London could be
the place. My art it's a mixture of places and times and is
not so much the surrounding that effect it but mostly is
the emotion that the surroundings evokes in me.
OC: What emotion do you
derive (or hope to portray) from an empty coffee cup on a
cafe table?
AL: When I draw coffee cup on
a cafe table its normally in the morning when I just woke
up and I feel like they are my best friend. I don't intend
to retrieve any emotion, not really.
OC: The fact that you
consider the coffee to be your best friend is a fairly
emotional statement, or at least, tells us something about
your emotional condition first thing in the morning. And
you often attach such poignant phrases to these sketches
such as 'Everything Looks Perfect From Far Away' or 'We Can
Pretend That We're Best Friends'. Perhaps there's more
emotion in those sketches than you realise? Is there
intentional emotion anywhere else in your
portfolio?
OC: So there's an element of auto-therapy contained within the sketches. But what about your abstract work? What drives you to paint these pieces?
AL: In the abstract work I enjoy working with colours and texture, and I think its also a therapeutic technique.
OC: What are you trying to achieve with the abstract work? What is your inspiration?
AL: Nothing more than I'm trying to find nice combination of colours and shapes, I want to achieve a nice decorative motif that will be a pleasure for the viewer to look at. I'm not searching anything particularly deep and conceptual, maybe a sort of naive intent to look good...My inspiration are my emotions and state of mind. I dont really find inspiration from the world outside its more an inner journey.
OC: So how is it therapeutic if it's purely aesthetic?
AL: It is therapeutic for me while I'm doing it and purely aesthetic for the viewer. Although, a nice image or colour could be just as therapeutic for the creator and for the viewer.
OC: What colours affect you on an emotional level?
AL: Well my favorite colour is blue and I love it so much that when I start a painting most of the times is the first colour I use. I can easily only use blue in my abstract work, everything I do with blue always come out nice, at least for me. So blue and any tonality of it!
OC: Any others?
AL: I also work well with orange gold and red. Their combination makes me feel loyal and royal- If that makes any sense?! I feel very comfortable using metallic and pearlescent colour. They give a modern look to my painting and I feel very relaxed when I use them. I love mixing them and create some new colour and see the effect they have with the sun light. I always hope that the colour I use will create a positive reaction on me and consequentially to the viewer.
OC: Do you need to feel relaxed when you work?
AL: Yes I do. I need to feel relaxed. Actually, painting relax me. So when I start I'm not particularly relaxed. It's only while I'm doing it I get more relaxed and comfortable with myself. I actually notice that yesterday as I was working in a new painting and I felt very good during and after I painted.
OC: That's therapeutic....
AL: Yes, It's like when people get stressed for various reason and any of us has their own technique to feel better: go for a walk, watch a movie, do yoga, do meditation, talking to friends. I paint or sketch, depending on the circumstances.
OC: Do you have any future plans? Do you know where you want to be in five years, what you hope to achieve?
AL: In 5 years time, I hope to be married with a baby...and of course have my paintings at the Saatchi Gallery.
OC: We'll keep our fingers crossed for you on both counts! Thank you Anna.
