Mashа Morgunova: “The introspective, freeing state it allowed me to
reach was something I had never experienced before.”
How and why did you start your artistic career?
I started making art to make sense of the world and my own experience in it. I continued to make art because it was the only way for me to stay happy and sane.
The “career” happened by itself.
How did you discover your medium and why did you choose it?
I began doing oil painting because it was one of the more accessible forms of making: all I needed was a brush, paint, and something to paint on. It was also one that could easily be self-taught. The introspective, freeing state it allowed me to reach was something I had never experienced before. While painting remains central to my art-making, I am frequently learning to work with new media including clay, glass, and metal.
Can you tell us about your creative process? How does your work come to life? How long does it take you to create a piece? When do you know it is finished?
My work begins with looking inward, sieving through memory and imagination until I end up with a captivating vision that strikes a chord. This vision is blurry; I keep refining it until it solidifies into something roughly tangible inside my head. This is the most exciting stage of my creative process when everything seems possible. Then I proceed with the actual making and those next few weeks feel fragile and insecure: I have to make an active effort to see the swan in the ugly duckling.
I try to incorporate spontaneity into my planning. I also try not to rush, as hard as it may be. I usually allow my work to mature over a few months, working on a piece intermittently and often in conjunction with others. Sometimes I deviate from my original vision by a lot, sometimes I end up staying true to it. Then all the elements come together and shortly after the piece feels complete. It is a particular kind of happiness—like solving a puzzle that means the world.
Who are your favorite artists? Which ones are you inspired by?
I love any artist who makes me feel like I am getting to know myself better through their interpretation of the world. It feels like someone seeing through my heart and soul, across space and time. Some of my most recent encounters of that kind happened with Chloé Zhao’s film Nomadland, Alexei Ratmansky’s choreography at the American Ballet Theater, a cappella music of Morten Lauridsen, and while reading a written record of David Wojnarowicz’s taped diaries.
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