Post #158

We believe it is important to continue supporting artists as their long-time efforts should not fade into obscurity amid the horrendous turn of events in Ukraine and Russia. ODRA founder Katya Ceppel has interviewed Valery Chtak, who has recently been recognized as the artist of the year by the Cosmoscow art fair. As a true rock star of Russia’s contemporary art, Chtak tells it like it is about the elusive nature of his own popularity, why he finds Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera mediocre and whether conceptual art needs constant clarification. 'About Russians. You know, Italians were a little bit taken aback when they were on a Russian bus, ‘Why is it so quiet and no one talks?’ But people do talk, they're just used to saying words quietly so that other people wouldn’t hear. So it's a culture of a slightly different attitude toward text.'