Husband-and-wife artists Aydemir Saidov and Marina Marina turn to the figure to capture intimate moments of life. Working closely, they often influence and learn from each other, but their artwork is distinctive to their artistic voices and brushstrokes. This summer, Lotton Gallery in Chicago will present a new exhibition featuring their work.
Marina Marina, Allure, oil on canvas, 18 x 40"
For Marina, her new pieces focus on a new model, which allows her to take a new journey with the artwork. “I am exploring my models like someone would explore an uninhabited island looking for hidden treasures,” she says. “In the Lotton exhibition, I wanted to hide the environment in the twilight and light up the nightlight to catch an unexpected, casual and intense look of this mystery that is called woman.”
To start each work, Marina will choose a model, the interior and the surroundings and then watch how the model lives within the environment. “I am letting her move, and I watch from the sidelines, then photograph and make small sketches. At the same time I am playing with color and composition. Everything is important here. Working ‘from nature’ is necessary for greater ‘materiality’ of the picture, compliance with the correct proportions of the model’s body and great richness of color,” she explains.
Aydemir Saidov, Repose, oil on canvas, 24 x 24"
“I also use photos to work. They preserve various details, but you need to know and remember all the time that photography obeys slightly different laws than human vision…I just love to create on canvas the illusion of what I see with my own eyes, and photographs help me enrich the picture with details.”
Saidov’s paintings are always about youth and serenity. “Youth is the beginning of the path [when there are] a myriad of possibilities and at the same time serenity is confidence in the future,” he shares. Saidov adds that the artwork is a chance for him to return to his own youth and feel the enthusiasm and curiosity, but without losing the rationality that lies ahead.
Marina Marina, Euphoria, oil on canvas, 20 x 28"
His artwork relies more on photography, so he organizes a photoshoot for a model with a stylist and makeup artist. Saidov sometimes even makes the clothes that his models wear. “Modernity gives us almost unlimited possibilities for processing photos through computers and photo editors,” he says. “Therefore, I mastered this science, which allows me to be several times more effective in creating the final sketch. When the sketch is ready, I start working with the canvas, where I have to make the picture more realistic than photography. White canvas promises a lot.”
The exhibition is scheduled to be on view at the gallery throughout the month of June. —
Lotton Gallery
900 N. Michigan Avenue, Level 6 • Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 664-6203 • www.lottongallery.com
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