Lara Volkonskaya

Art Brokerage: Lara Volkonskaya Russian Artist: Lara Volkonskaya, all paintings radiate an energy that most viewers are unable to process but which she is irresistibly drawn to. Greatly inspired by works of Jasper Johns, Matisse, Picasso, Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt, Lara' s artwork is a process of patience, patience and more patience, which has taken her more than twenty years to develop. She paints on silk, one of the most ancient forms of art that exists; yet her paintings are fluid and use memorable colors that she mixes herself. And despite the fact that the unforgiving process of painting on silk leaves no room for error, Lara's art is fearless and deeply expressive. Using silk as a canvas, Lara utilizes different techniques by means of oil and acrylic, sometimes painting with oil on water-colored background, because silk allows for that. As the daughter of a diplomat, Lara spent her childhood moving from place to place, being exposed to different cultures and art, but was brought up to follow in her father's footsteps. She remembers when she was five years old, her family took her to the British Museum in London, and she was enchanted, and has been ever since. Lara studied to be a diplomat, graduating from the Moscow Institute of International Relations in 1976, and worked in the United Nations in New York for five years. But Lara could not stay away from art, and spent countless hours in museums, absorbing the energy of the paintings around her. After a life-changing night that she spent in the Hermitage in Leningrad (present day St. Petersburg, Russia), Lara knew at last that she was an artist and not a diplomat. In 1981 she abandoned her former career. She attended the Moscow Art Academy, and lived in Paris and Madrid, studying art and making exhibitions at embassies of different countries, and eventually moved to California after getting married. She practiced tirelessly, painting on silk, which presented a formidable yet thrilling challenge. Her years of study and practice have resulted in a body of work that is truly innovative and unique. Lara invests intense care in every stroke and every detail of her art. My paintings are my babies, she says. It's a pity they have to leave home.