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Irina Zaytceva |
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PRESS RELEASE
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Born and raised in Russia, Irina Zaytceva immigrated to the United States in 1990 with her ex- husband and 3 year old son. Her art work today still speaks of her Russian heritage and excellent art education, graduating from the prestigious Art Institute of Moscow with a B.A. and M.F.A. in Book Illustration. Soon after graduating Zaytceva began experimenting with the sculptural possibilities of ceramics combined with her paintings. Porcelain had a particular attraction for Irina because of its historical importance and the finer grain this material offered. She developed several unique techniques, which opened more doors for her creative talents. All of her works are created using high fire porcelain, overglaze as well as underglaze colors, and 14 carat gold. Irina says of her work over the last 20 years: ” My colors and powers came together to help me to speak, to tell my stories, to harvest the fruits and flowers of the garden of my mind and soul, sculpting my works and adding to the further meaning of them by painting the surfaces with colored pictures.”
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Zaytceva describes her process as “I begin sculpture without knowing how the story ends. I mean, I almost never do sketches for the piece, and if I do them, the piece still manages to surprise me, turning out a bit different than my plan. I explore a story using sculpture, feeling my way around. First, I build an object in clay. It could be as simple as almost conventional tea pot with a visible spout and lid or it could be a figurative sculpture where the position of the spout or the lid is not yet obvious. At this stage my task is to create a plastically intriguing shape. Most of the time I do not think how I will decorate it. When the object is done, then I try to see what its shape suggests in terms of colors, space, painting, and gold luster. It is always an improvisation.” Surrounded by over 2,500 books, Zaytceva works in a small converted garage studio listening to CD’s of still more books while creating her exquisite worlds. The products of her inventive imagination defy belief in their meticulous detail and striking beauty. They are fairytales, mythical illusions, and a celebration of the majesty of nature. The porcelain clay allows her to paint in much greater detail than other clay bodies as she adds layer upon layer of paint followed by firing after firing. The gold luster reminiscent of Byzantine icons is the last application. The magnificent detail of each piece keeps the viewer deeply engaged, making discovery after discovery. Zaytceva’s work creates its own language. The pieces bring together her origins as a book illustrator making visual a story, a lifetime as an avid reader and her desire to tell the stories flowing from her brilliant mind. She is an artist with an engaging story to tell and has extraordinary technical ability to visually display these tales for involvement of the viewer. Her talents are immediately arresting whether Irina is painting delicate faces and hands or lyrical scenes from nature. In each work there exists beauty, tension and a hint of erotica.
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