Poelle × Vova Keno
The debut collection of POELLE silk scarves carries bright paintings by the contemporary Lviv artist Vova Keno. To introduce you to the artist, we share part of his conversation with Lesia Pakharyna.
Q: Tell us about yourself and your path. How did you become an artist? Where did you study?
A: I was born in Morshyn in the Lviv region. As a child I went to art school, then graduated from the Stryi art college in stained glass. Studying didn’t interest me much and I gave it little attention: at the time I was drawn to graffiti. My focus was on street art, I also liked classical painting, and in my graffiti I tried to bring in some of the principles of painting. Graffiti led to commissions: interiors of venues and offices, facades and all kinds of buildings. In total I worked in this field for more than 15 years. I painted canvases then too, but only now and then. Keno is my graffiti name.
Q: How would you describe your style? Which artists or movements influenced you?
A: I would call my style contemporary and aggressively sweet. It’s when a graffiti artist wants to paint like Caravaggio or Michelangelo, but with today’s materials. My work is how I see the world around me. It is an attempt to show that there are different views and different planes of perception, that one and the same object can be seen and felt in different ways.
Q: Where do you find inspiration? Do you know the so-called agony of creation? If so, how do you deal with it?
A: Everything comes in the process of doing, and that doing is not always creative. If the agony starts, you are doing something wrong. For me, creating is a synonym for lightness: it should be easy, fun and pleasant. If it gets hard, do something else for a while. I have favorite works, and when I looked at them all, I understood what they share: they were all made quickly, without doubt, in one breath. The more I think about a work, the heavier it gets and the worse it turns out, or it doesn’t work at all. The paintings made simply, without expectations, became the important and meaningful ones for me.
Q: Do paintings need an explanation?
A: If a painting needs a description, it is an illustration of that description. Good painting needs no description. Holding a work hostage to its meaning limits it.
The full interview (in Ukrainian) is on harpersbazaar.com.ua.
