Art That Reflects Inner Strength. An Interview with Bella Novinkova

Hi everyone! Welcome to issue 13 of our #ourstudents series — interviews in which our students talk about themselves and their art.

In this issue we invited the artist Bella Novinkova.

She lives and works in Moscow. Bella is a resident artist at the Triptych Gallery in Moscow. She paints in oils, makes works on paper and watercolour studies, and works in oil pastel.

I like working in series — each one has its main oil paintings plus watercolour and pastel studies for them.

What subjects inspire you?

I think a lot about which subjects I’d like to raise in art, to throw light on. But so far I keep concluding that what I want most is to invite the viewer into a dialogue with themselves — towards inner acquaintance, if not quite inner knowledge. I want to show that beauty runs deeper than a pretty picture. And to see it you often have to make an effort, you have to become curious about it. The world moves very fast now, and I want to slow down enough to see the depth. It sounds obvious, but everything that really matters is hidden in simple things.

For example, the series “Remnants of Luxury”, shown this year at the Third Place fair by the Triptych Gallery, is about forgotten beauty that keeps its splendour and grandeur even once everyone has forgotten it.

How do you work on your paintings?

Each painting takes anywhere from three or four weeks to three or four months. I love working with complex shades and colour transitions. Oil demands patience, but it lets you build deep conversations between colours.

Candles come up often in your work. What do they stand for?

For me candles are an image of memory. You light a candle — something has happened; the wax melts — memories change over time. The candle burns down — a lump of wax is left. Our memories change in the same way: they distort, or fade. But I always show candles burning, as a symbol of hope. As long as we’re alive.

What are your plans for the future?

This year has been an important one for me. I became a resident artist at the Triptych Gallery and showed a new series, “Remnants of Luxury”, at the Third Place fair in St Petersburg and at the New Movement festival in Veliky Novgorod. I already have sketches for a new series, and the urge to make things is still there. Art is my salvation. I want people looking at my work to see beauty, hope and light, in spite of the sadness and the loss.

What role does studying play in your practice?