This month, the work of artist Ella Kruglyanskaya is displayed in the renowned windows of the Barneys Madison Avenue flagship. Below, we catch up with the artist to get a glimpse into her colorful world.
Barneys New York: As a painter, was it a challenge to translate your work into a window display?
Ella Kruglyanskaya: It just sort of happened that the work I’ve been making recently resonated with Dennis [Freedman], so fortunately, I didn’t have to change much. I continued thinking of them as paintings that also happened to be functioning as window displays. All the themes and color palette were there. I collaborated with the Barneys creative team to make sure the works made sense spatially. That’s how we came up with irregular angles—the panels for the paintings were custom fabricated by the wonderful Barneys display team.
BNY: How did this creative process differ from setting up a gallery show?
EK: Speaking strictly for myself, when working towards a gallery show, the decision of what pieces will be included, their size and how they will be installed or displayed doesn’t enter into the process. I concentrate on each work individually at first. I also consider how each work relates to what came before it. A lot of my paintings are in conversation with each other. The exhibition’s final form is something that is shaped afterwards, when the work is already done. In the case of this project, we had to discuss a lot of issues in the very beginning. It involved the logistics of getting large objects into the window and hanging them. Unlike a gallery wall, a display window is not a neutral space. We considered many background options (colors, textures, angles) before settling on this clean minimal environment. Though it emulates a gallery aesthetic, it is really more of a set.
BNY: So many of your paintings depict graphic, curvaceous women. How does the female form inspire you?
EK: There are several layers to my engagement with this form. This type of representation stems from a long tradition: from Etruscan and Greek art to Rubens, Matisse and Picasso, women have always looked plentiful (perhaps because such forms would give the artist more to work with?). I’m sure there’s a better reason. Also, it has to do with exaggeration. The women in my paintings are all about to burst. It is probably some sort of existential bursting, but filtered through comedy. Humor is a way of coping with the idea of the body’s eventual demise, as well as the ongoing absurdities of life. I’m not implying that “hefting” equals funny. The humor is more in their interaction and reference to comics and cartoons. Body type can be easily politicized, but to me this is not a moral issue. I always separate reality from representation.
BNY: The concept that “fashion is art” has almost become cliché. Do you agree with the idea?
EK: It really depends on the definition of both. I think sometimes “art” and “artistic” are referred to interchangeably. I also think people imply that art is some sort of pinnacle, something to be aspiring to. In the creative field, when something is called “art,” it means that it has escaped the realm of mere “craft.” But that concept is valid only if you believe in this hierarchy. I think the Bauhaus and Constructivist movements addressed this issue by trying to level the playing field along all the creative disciplines. I’m very much interested in that period. It really comes down to language for me. I understand when a breathtaking piece of fashion is referred to as a work of art. It means that it’s something to be admired. One can have an aesthetic experience with it. In general though, I don’t think of contemporary fashion as art, but I see all the creative disciplines as equal when in their best iterations, so it’s not a negative in my eyes.
BNY: How has fashion played a role in your work and life?
EK: Fashion plays a major role in my work and personal life, especially fashion photography and textile design, which are sources I use to expand my visual vocabulary. On a personal level, I channel a great amount of desire into it.
- Tory Hoen
Comments