We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vladimir Kush. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vladimir below.
Alright, Vladimir thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I grew up in a family with high cultural values. At the time of my childhood, Russia was still behind an iron curtain and the only way to see exotic and unusual places was by traveling in my own imagination. Books that provoked such imagination were always on my family bookshelves. I grew exotic plants from seeds and cuttings only to travel with them to their native
countries. I attended an art school since I was 7 and was very lucky with my first art teacher who did not suppress imagination and allowed certain freedom in his student’s creative flow. His stories about the greatest artists, told while we were painting, left a deep impact in my memory. When I was 12, my father and I stood in a mile-long line of people to see the “underground” exhibition of younger and progressive artists in Moscow, which was in many ways a fresh wind amidst the stagnation of socialist realism. No doubt it influenced greatly on the course of my art and overall thinking. I started to draw and paint when I was 3 years old (differently than other kids) and liked to sit on my father’s lap and interactively draw and color after him: here is the man walking with the stick, over there is a car passing by…
My relatives said that the artistic gene was inherited from my father’s line: my great grandma had attended the art academy… After 10 years at the art school, I entered the Moscow School of Art and Design but was conscripted to the Russian army after the first year. During the 2-year stint in the Russian army I was mostly employed by my commander to
paint large paintings for various purposes. Some of them were patriotic scenes and some allowed certain artistic freedom.
The spirit of freedom was in the air, and I included some fantastic elements into the military scenes. In one of the large paintings, I had placed a military antenna and other equipment onto an iceberg. It looked very romantic, and the commanders liked it. In any case, it was excellent training and an everyday exercise of my artistic skills.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
To reflect the world in the mirror of the metaphor – this is the goal of the artist. Metaphor does not only belong to linguistic communication but can also be found in our daily life. Metaphor is the means of communication that we live by. First of all, the metaphor is aimed at the viewer’s feelings and subconscious. It gives full rein to imagination, as it is the imagination that creates the connections between two seemingly different things. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge has its limitations, while imagination has no limits.” ~Albert Einstein. Metaphor leaves the mind open to grasp onto the hidden likeness of things and events and the more distant these things are, the greater the effect. The unexpectedness of the connection and sudden insight, which takes your breath away, is the true measure of the painting’s value, according to the artist. Different from art that leaves us in speechless admiration (realism) or suggests we solve a puzzle made of symbols (abstract art), metaphorical art challenges our subconscious with the symbolism of artifacts. Any metaphor has its own story to tell. Metaphor “sees” through centuries, unveiling the images of the world and connecting notions created by civilization. At the same time, metaphor can easily reflect the complexities of our modern life, with its ambiguity and contradictions.
The painter’s mission is to find a metaphorical “parallel” for every side of real life. The element of unexpectedness will shake up the viewer and awaken his artistic nature. The artist believes that the viewer’s insight comes at once. It is not about discovering something new. His concept is similar to that of Plato who believed there is an ideal world, a “cave” that human souls once dwelled in. The “cave” retained their core ideas of things after they left. Therefore, the insight that comes when viewing art is a recollection of that. The artist’s role is to stimulate this subconscious process of remembering through his art.
Vladimir Kush is one of the most original artists of our time. Through hard work and talent, he became the founder of a new genre of art known as – Metaphorical Realism – which is showcased throughout the world and in his own chain of galleries across the United States.
Since the early 90’s he transformed himself from a struggling artist who earned his living by drawing portraits on the beaches of Santa Monica, to a major artist recognized on both sides of the Atlantic. Vladimir’s American odyssey began in 1990 when he chose not to return to Russia and flew to Los Angeles. His first few years in the United States required a lot of perseverance and hard work. Finding oneself, the ebb and flow of artistic ideas, and the search for a style of your own is a long and winding path that remains hidden from the public eye. It runs in the dark, like the inner workings of the mind – the depths of subconscious – and must mature like a chrysalis on its way to becoming a butterfly. This is a critical stage of development during a formative time in the life of an artist. At the end of nearly a decade of unceasing effort in a foreign land, 1998 brought the starting point of
Vladimir’s success as a professional artist and the founder of a new art style. By that time his most notable works – Wind, Fauna in La Mancha, Bound for Distant Shores, Nero, Sunrise by the Ocean, Music of the Woods, Candle, Atlas of Wander, and others – formed the defining examples of his method and laid the foundation for metaphorical realism.
In 2001, side by side with his father “Oleg Kush” they painted the walls of the new gallery space in Lahaina, giving birth to Kush Fine Art as a business. Since then, Oleg elaborates on the concepts with books, stories, art descriptions, apps, and KFA staff training. With the opening of the first of his galleries in Lahaina on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, the American cultural environment accepted the artist and his vision. Metaphorical realism and the Kush Fine Art brand were established. It is worth noting that he settled on an exotic island in the Pacific, of which he dreamed as a boy but could not visit from behind the Iron Curtain that was the Soviet Union. Now Kush owns several large high-end galleries across the United States currently in Las Vegas, Laguna Beach, Miami Beach, Maui, and Scottsdale and has permanent exhibitions worldwide.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
To reflect the world in the mirror of the metaphor – this is the goal of the artist. Metaphor does not only belong to linguistic communication but can also be found in our daily life. Metaphor is the means of communication that we live by. First of all, the metaphor is aimed at the viewer’s feelings and subconscious. It gives full rein to imagination, as it is the imagination that creates the connections between two seemingly different things. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge has its limitations, while imagination has no limits.” ~Albert Einstein. Metaphor leaves the mind open to grasp onto the hidden likeness of things and events and the more distant these things are, the greater the effect. The unexpectedness of the connection and sudden insight, which takes your breath away, is the true measure of the painting’s value, according to the artist. Different from art that leaves us in speechless admiration (realism) or suggests we solve a puzzle made of symbols (abstract art), metaphorical art challenges our subconscious with the symbolism of artifacts. Any metaphor has its own story to tell. Metaphor “sees” through centuries, unveiling the images of the world and connecting notions created by civilization. At the same time, metaphor can easily reflect the complexities of our modern life, with its ambiguity and contradictions.
The painter’s mission is to find a metaphorical “parallel” for every side of real life. The element of unexpectedness will shake up the viewer and awaken his artistic nature. The artist believes that the viewer’s insight comes at once. It is not about discovering something new. His concept is similar to that of Plato who believed there is an ideal world, a “cave” that human souls once dwelled in. The “cave” retained their core ideas of things after they left. Therefore, the insight that comes when viewing art is a recollection of that. The artist’s role is to stimulate this subconscious process of remembering through his art.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It is the recognition of collectors and admirers that Vladimir appreciates most. His paintings are inspiring young artists and appealing to professional writers and musicians, who incorporate his images on the covers of their releases and books. The main focus of Kush’s art has always been in painting and drawing, and yet the ideas that have grown on the flat surface of the canvas have gradually acquired one more dimension and transitioned into 3D space. Turned out in bronze, silver, and gold, strengthened by the shine of patina or the sparkle of precious stones, they received their shape and reached their fullness in metaphorical sculptures, a unique jewelry collection, and a wearable art collection.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kushfineart.com
- Instagram: @kushfineart
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/VladimirKushFineArt
- Youtube: @vladimirkush-kushfineart1350
Image Credits
Kush Fine Art