Interview “Water & Metaphors” | Collect Art Magazine, Vol. 92
Collect Art Magazine - Georgia, Tiblisi
1. Your work focuses on inner states and quiet emotional tensions. What draws you to moments that exist between thought and feeling rather than clear narratives?
I’m drawn to those moments because I see them as fragile and constantly shifting. Once they are labeled, they begin to feel fixed. That in-between state feels closer to how we truly experience things and gives the viewer freedom to experience the artwork in their own way.2. You often describe water as an emotional landscape rather than a literal space. How did water become such a central metaphor in your work?
Water has always felt closely tied to the emotional world: fluid, adaptable, and always in motion. I use it as a landscape that leaves room for different emotional responses in the viewer. In that sense, water becomes a metaphor for how vast and layered our inner world can be.3. Animals and small natural forms appear as subtle presences in your paintings. What role do these figures play in expressing what cannot be spoken directly?
They act as quiet companions, creating intimacy and connection with the main figure. At times, they add color or subtly shape the composition, intensifying the emotional atmosphere of the work.
4. You speak of creating a “subtle magnetism” between the artwork and the viewer. How do you know when a painting has achieved that quiet pull?
I know it when there’s a sense of stillness while looking at the painting. If it feels hard to look away, I know it has fulfilled its purpose.5. Your figures often seem suspended—drifting, surfacing, or lingering in stillness. What does this state of suspension represent for you emotionally or psychologically?
I use suspension to represent moments of calm or awareness, where everything can be felt more deeply. For me, it’s a space of perception and receptivity rather than action.
6. Having trained in both fine art and illustration, how has this dual background shaped your sensitivity to atmosphere, restraint, and visual clarity?
While illustration taught me to be clear and intentional, fine art taught me to slow down and leave space, so atmosphere can emerge. Together, they help me say less without losing meaning.
7. Memory appears in your work as something unresolved and slowly emerging. How do personal experiences transform into these distilled visual moments?
I paint experiences that couldn’t be fully lived or resolved, and painting helps me let them go. What remains is the emotional trace, carried through the image and often clarified by the title
8. Your paintings resist explanation and narration. What do you hope viewers bring of themselves into the space you leave open?
I hope viewers approach my work with receptivity and a sense of openness. In that space, the painting can act as a mirror, resonating emotionally even if they can’t fully explain why.
9. Vulnerability and awareness coexist in your work without conflict. How do you navigate this balance during the painting process?
I pay close attention to what the painting needs, as it unfolds. Fixed plans tend to lose meaning, especially when I work with liquid mediums. That’s where vulnerability comes into play, allowing the painting to lead.
10. Looking ahead, how do you see your exploration of emotional landscapes evolving—will water continue to carry these inner experiences, or do you anticipate new metaphors emerging?
Water will remain central to my work, while leaving room for new metaphors to emerge. Elements like light, gravity, or air help translate emotion in a powerful way.
