Nikolai Matsenko: "The priority for me now is economic and military power of Ukraine"
November - December 2014
In 2014 Forbes magazine has rightly included Nicholai Matsenko in the top 25 ranking of Ukraine's most successful artists. He was born in the small village in Ivano-Frankivsk region, and continues to give love for folk art and its roots to connoisseurs and admirers of contemporary Ukrainian art.
GD: I'd like to hear from the mastermind of "Natsprom" project, how was this trend born in the early 90's?
Nikolai Matsenko: "Natsprom" is not a group of artists, nor is it a trend in art, first of all it is a program representing Ukrainian contemporary art as the main brand of our country in the world cultural space. We see our fundamental goal as introduction of Ukraine into the club of basic geo-cultural players in the world. "Natsprom" projects deal with issues relating to identity, fixation, archiving of historical heritage and at the same time emphasize the need to review and update the cultural space.
As for the history of "Natsprom", it came into being gradually growing out of our joint projects with Oleg Tistol throughout the 90's. Along with the practice came understanding of the need to comprehend our artistic activity and provide clarity and sharpness to the vector of our movement. This realization finally matured at the beginning of 2000's, and with it, in fact, came the term "Natsprom" ("National promotion"), under which we now create our joint projects.
GD: They call you master of Ukrainian neofolk. How difficult is it to work in this genre? How did you find your style?
Nicholai Matsenko: "Neofolk" is only one branch on the tree of my creativity. But it is very dear to my heart, because that's my only project born not so much as a result of brain activity but rather owing to a spiritual impulse, based on the aesthetic experience of early childhood. Such an approach to creativity is not characteristic of me, because I usually create conceptual design first. So "Neofolk" occupies a special place in my art. In this project, I interpret folk motifs in a modern way, using them as a modern visual "kolomyjka", thus trying to introduce tradition in the context of contemporary art, to build a bridge over the emerging cultural abyss.
The bulk of my work is so-called heraldry, which I am working on since 2007. As a result this project became the face of my art. This style is based on all strata of Ukrainian culture, from early printed books through Narbut's graphics to the present day. In my heraldry I use seemingly paradoxical combinations of subjects, common stereotypes and verbal formulas, creating in the end a grotesque portrait of contemporary Ukrainian reality.
GD: Do you have examples of classical landscapes or still lifes in your art?
Nicholai Matsenko: During my studies I painted a lot of landscapes and still lifes. After all, nature for the arts student is like lines in a lined notebook which guide yet clumsy hand. But literate person can easily write on a paper without lines. And although I sometimes paint flowers or fruits, I see it as a training on a jumping rope, not as entering the ring.
GD: PinchukArtCentre held your solo exhibition in 2012, when will be the next?
Nicholai Matsenko: Very soon my personal exhibition "Herbarium" will open at Dymchuk Gallery, it is a study of strange behavior phenomenon of the members of some species of fauna in the east of our country. I study this through an entomological and amateur ornithological prism. The project is a direct reflection on the current situation in Ukraine and will consist almost entirely of new works created over the past few months.
GD: What projects are you working on now?
Nicholai Matsenko: Actually now, right now, I'm working on "Herbarium". And I will continue until entomo-ornithological theme ceases to be relevant for our country. Also, I do not stop working on my other projects, "Neofolk", "Buy Ukrainian", "Square in every house!".
GD: For the past two years, representatives of London's Saatchi Gallery have chosen your work for the exhibition. How do foreign critics and experts perceive of your work?
Nicholai Matsenko: Based on the fact that western curators and experts selected my works for exhibition, apparently they like them. Besides, representatives of the Saatchi Gallery are quite familiar with the needs of European audience and probably find my works to be rather characteristic and at the same time readable for the Western audience Ukrainian product.
GD: Do you have your own Ukrainian art dream?
Nicholai Matsenko: My Ukrainian dream concerns art indirectly. Given current situation in our country, the priority for me now is economic and military power of Ukraine, as well as smoking ruins on the Kremlin site. And as an artist, I would be happy to paint this landscape in classical style.
Interview by Demetrio Felice.
Igor Abramovich,
art dealer, curator
Nikolai Matsenko is one of those artists whose work represents Ukraine on the world art scene for many years now. His heraldic work and "Neofolk" form individual artistic style, easily recognizable not only in local but also in the global context. Since 2009 until today, Matsenko's works are constantly appearing on the international art market and are successfully sold at Sotheby's and Phillips. So the demand is there, and estimates are growing steadily.
