“I believe that there are no limits in art, and acquiring skills opens many doors,” Anastasiia Dushak

The interview with Anastasiia Dushak conducted by Halina Rosa

Halina: Anastasiia, why did you become a multidisciplinary artist?

Anastasiia: I think it’s fate! Since childhood, I liked drawing and I was good at it. Like everyone, I tried myself in different areas but realized I couldn’t fight my destiny. As an artist, it is a state of mind, and the soul exists in everything surrounding us, including ourselves.

Halina: What are you painting? Are your artworks a salvation from war?

Anastasiia: I am not escaping the war when creating my works. My path leads to no result or success. The road itself is an art. And everyone has their whole life to figure it out. Most of my paintings are portraits close to cubism. Their main idea is to show the intimate world of a person, not his appearance. The portrait should be drawn until you can talk to him. You need to share your thoughts, feelings, and psychology. Each portrait is like an imprint of human fate, made at a given moment in life. A person changes his interior and appearance because this is unfortunately inevitable, but the portrait will remain the same at that moment. Sometimes other people can find something that reminds them of them.

Halina: Gallery employees believe that works of art are valuable when the artists have technical skills and painting talent. How do you rate yourself as an artist?

Anastasiia: I can’t judge myself. But let me tell you, there is no artist without craftsmanship. Craft is the hand that must convey what you feel with your mind and heart!

Halina: Painting is just one way to express your creative sensitivity. What else is your artistic life filled with?

Anastasiia: I like direct contact between creativity and people.

By creating the @Art_Dushak brand, I offer a wide range of artistic services:

“HAND MADE PROJECT” – clothing design.

“ART FOR YOUR SOUL” – commercial art, custom orders.

“PHOTOPROJECT” – Artistic photography.

“ART WALLS PROJECT” – artistic wall painting, creating decorations for children’s parties.

“ART ENGLISH CLUB” – learning to draw for children.

I’m also trying my hand at NFTs.

Halina: Wow. A lot of creativity, and also, you are a fashion designer?

Anastasiia: As if. I create patterns or transfer my images, for example, to T-shirts. T-shirts are printed only in one copy for one customer.

It also gives new life to old clothes. This is a way to give your clothes an artistic, individual character. Personalization. It is also a way to raise awareness of ecology and sustainable development. Instead of constantly buying new things, you can think about how to make them more attractive and add unique value to what you already have in your wardrobe, or find and personalize something unusual in second-hand stores. Every contribution to reducing Earth’s pollution is valuable.

Halina: I remember our meeting with Meg Blue at the Royal Blue Visual Arts Gallery in Stockholm. The idea for a photo session was born spontaneously, and within a few days, this extraordinary photo session was realized.

Anastasiia: Yes. The idea was spontaneous, but the session implementation was well thought out. Two main topics were discussed at the meeting.

The first one was a dress made… from roses hand-painted by you. I painted roses on the model’s body (body painting) for this dress and dyed her hair pink.

The second topic was the clothes I painted and my paintings.

I styled the model and painted the body, and Meg Blue worked on the details of the set design and lighting effects. She focused on models posing and taking photos. I knew there had to be good photos from such a session. I hope you were delighted with the photos, Halina.

Halina: I couldn’t be with you that day and didn’t know what to expect. That’s why my surprise and gratitude for the results and your work are enormous.

***

ANASTASIA DUSHAK Ukrainian artist and photographer, born in 1991. She currently lives in Sweden due to the war in her home country. Anastazja holds a degree in swimming, a bachelor’s degree in “Management of the social sphere of culture” (2012), and a master’s degree in psychology (2024). She also found her passion in teaching.

Her paintings are exhibited in galleries around the world.

Current projects:

“HAND MADE PROJECT” – clothing design https://www.instagram.com/art_tshirts_for_soul

“ART FOR YOUR SOUL” – commercial art, custom orders

“PHOTOPROJECT” – Artistic photography https://www.instagram.com/dushak_work_shop_

“BODY ART” – performance, water makeup for children, etc.

“ART WALLS PROJECT” – painting walls, and creating decorations for children’s parties.

“ART ENGLISH CLUB” – learning to draw for children https://www.instagram.com/art_english_club

https://www.instagram.com/dubaiartlab

NFTs: https://opensea.io/ART_DUSHAK

27.02.2024 Stockholm