<h3>“About moving from St. Petersburg, audience and technique”</h3>&nbsp;Nelly: Now You live in Anapa, but studied in St. Petersburg. Why did you return back to a small town? Got too cold?Viktor: Everybody gets cold in St. Petersburg. That city is great for all the opportunities it provides. But for me, the climate is always the priority.N: How about the networking environment, connections, and exhibitions?V: I understood that I was losing many acquaintances. It was inevitable. I noticed something peculiar when I lived in St. Petersburg, my phone rang constantly. For various reasons. When I returned to Krasnodar, there were half as many conversations, and when I moved to Anapa, the phone stopped ringing all together. I found peace. Social media came to the rescue. Thanks to the internet, I'm in demand. Because there are no potential collectors in Anapa. Only in Moscow, St. Petersburg and beyond.N: Are there really no wealthy art connoisseurs in Anapa?V: There are wealthy people. But they are not interested in contemporary art.N: Who would be your audience then?V: People like You. People who are on the Internet, and on social networks. As a rule, these are modern, active young people. They have a need for art. Usually, I try to choose images which are obvious to everyone and through them, I manage to transmit my thoughts. The technique of my work is rather classical. One of the popular topics would be fast food. The viewer sees contemporary paintings in the historical execution. My work is an intermedium between various perceptions on art.N: Which eras do you allude to? Which styles attract you the most?V: Mostly, I pay homage to the Dutch. I also like Rene Magritte. Obviously it would be a different era. But his influences can be definitely traced within my works.N: Do you have any works that are yet not shown to the viewer until this moment? Ideas that are not yet ready to be externalized?V: I do what I want at a given moment. For a period of several years I used to work on a series of paintings related to draperies. And I was already easily recognisable by that body of work. But eventually I wanted to step away from realism and study the ideas around the Black Square. I don't really care how people would perceive me. Once I am interested, I do what I do. I think I should not lock myself up into precise frameworks.

<h3>“Art vs. Commerce”</h3>&nbsp;N: What is your strategy for promoting and creating the work?V: It might seem strange to you, but there is none.N: How about the income? The contemporary artist must be, to some extent, a manager or at least have a representation.V: I made installations at one point. That inspired me a lot, but it didn't sell well. So I decided to focus on painting instead. The commercial side of matter also concerns me. And if my paintings are not for sale, then I have to go to work. My only strategy is to do the art.I studied extensively the works of Dutch artists and I realised that the picture should catch attention at the distance and I use these principles that the artists of the past came up with. The viewer notices my work, keeps an eye on it and then delves deeper into the idea and possibly approves of it. Trash and kitsch are not my cup of tea. I would like to be seen and understood by people of different interests. Some haters on Instagram disapprove and scold me for this.N: What do they pick on?V: They say I paint garbage. Some kind of rags. They write: “Is there really not enough beauty in our life?”. They accuse me of stealing ideas. Homage to other masters’ works is perceived as theft.

<h3>“How do you see yourself in the global market?”</h3>&nbsp;V: One way or another I am selling in China, Austria, Italy and UK. I currently do not have any specific international project that I am collaborating with. However last year I was invited by a Finnish gallery - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/galleriarajatila/">Galleria Rajatila</a>. On favourable terms. I reasoned then that I now live in Anapa, a small town. And I have never been invited to organize an exhibition of my works. The authors of the project "Disposable" wrote on Instagram. They invited me for a month, paying all my expenses, from travelling to visa. And on top of that, they paid a fee for participation. It was a one-time project under a grant from the Finnish government.&nbsp;I created the works at home and then&nbsp;brought them with me. I had a pass to all the museums, an unlimited travel card, and an unlimited sim card. The whole thing seemed more like a vacation. I held some master classes and conferences for a couple of days a week. Lived in a house near the forest. And I was completely alone by myself there.

<h3>"WINDOW" (AKA “OKNO”)</h3>&nbsp;N: You are a member of the “Window” art group. How did you find each other?V: We met at the Krasnodar Art School. We all studied in different courses and faculties. However we started working together much later after I moved away (to St. Petersburg). Ivan Streltsov was already living there, Alexey Spirenkov was in Moscow, Alexander Kompaniets was in Krasnodar. We live in different cities but communicate via the Internet. We meet at exhibitions. The main idea of ​​our group is that we are all different. Visually and internally. We have a variety of common themes. And we make exhibitions, reflecting on various topics: silence, emptiness, the meaning of life.N: Do the paintings from these exhibitions sell well?V: It all depends.N: Are the solo projects more successful?V: I wouldn't call it a success. All works are important to me. I would not want to think only about commercial side. However my paintings were sold a bit more actively.

<h3>“About Family, About Home, About Life without Painting”</h3>&nbsp;N: You have a family, a child. How much seclusion do you need?V: I have a separate studio room in our apartment. And that is completely my space. During the week, we allocate days dedicated to the family. Obviously I work a lot, but I can stop at any given moment.N: Is your wife an artist too?V: Yes, she does plain-air paintingN: How do you balance work?V: My wife writes in nature, on trips. I work mostly at home. My wife leads the household.N: Who is the main artist in the family?V: There is no such thing. However I'm the breadwinner.N: Does your family criticise you?V: My wife is a great assistant. I consult quite often with her.N: Which paintings decorate your house?V: Paintings made by my wife, graphics by Olga Valerievna Bernardzhi, and works by Alexander Kompaniets from our Window community. It is very convenient to have an artist friend. We usually exchange our art by barter.N: Whom would you like to add to your collection?V: I like a bunch of artists. But I guess I would only get Rothko or Cezanne for myself. However, it would be rather hard to live without art at all, I think!N: What would you do in life if not art? Imagine that you could no longer paint pictures.V: Astronomy, photography. Also quite few people know that I collect cacti, certain rare types. This is my very intimate hobby. An absolutely irrationality. But I recharge when I stare at my cacti. There are some species that were only recently discovered in nature – called endemic. They grow only in certain areas, they can be invisible and seem like dried grass or thorns.

<h3>“About Works”</h3>&nbsp;N: So it turns out in your practice, you put on display those things which are secondary and unimportant. For instance, a series of works with draperies.V: In my work, I reflect about the surface of objects, about their essence, white draperies are substances that contain information about the existence of the universe. It is the path from the white veil of Christ to the Shroud of Turin.N: Was there anyone who addressed the topic of the primary matter before you?V: Drapery hides a lot of potentials. On one hand, it is an ordinary rag, but at the same time, it does not specify any precise object. Due to its plasticity, it can transform into anything. It can be folded into a ball or it can be spread out. It can imprint the traces of those objects that stood on it. For an artist, this is the super-matter, it would seem.I noticed some new amazing things in iconography painting. For sure many have heard about the Shroud of Turin, which covered the body of Christ, taking shape of his body. There is also such an iconographic image entitled - red drapery. It is a symbol for an intimacy of an event or a moment that is hidden from human eyes.

<h3>“About Ecology”</h3>&nbsp;N: You have a series of works depicting plastic utensils and bags. Did you include an environmental aspect when you were working on these paintings? Is the environment issue important to you?V: The topic of ecology is very important. For me personally. However, in my practice I try to avoid any moral reasoning behind this issue.&nbsp;When I paint a plastic glass, a plastic plate or fast food, I first&nbsp;of all admire the perfection of these objects. Similarly how the Dutch admired the look of a silver dish or a coloured crystal römer. Objects that I draw reflect the times. They are light, comfortable and cheap. They are a brilliant invention of mankind! At the same time, they pose a great threat to the planet. The internal contradictions of these objects make me constantly return to them again and again. Therefore they are beautiful, in their design, and in their functionality.In my opinion, the use of disposable items has changed the attitude of society towards many other things in our life, for instance to information, to people. While meeting a new person, no one tries to remember the name nor the appearance. No one keeps such information in their heads, because anyone can return to it at any time easily, like another quick trip to the store, get a plastic bag at the checkout.N: I would like to highlight your series entitled “The Breakfast”. I think when one looks at your hamburger, one can easily smell it. Was that the goal to make it incredibly appetizing?V: When I draw a hamburger or even a packaging, I intend to make it attractive. Because fast food by itself is a very controversial thing as it is. And if I portray a hamburger in an unsightly light, it would seem to me that some kind of morality appears. I would like to live with the feeling that the world is beautiful place and good with its imperfections. And I would want it to stay that way forever.N: What is the success behind your fast food paintings? I am hearing there might be a six months long queue to acquire them.V: Perhaps it is not the only technique that is important here, but also the fact that the viewer develops associations, and emotions.

<h3>"About Character, Taxes and Pensions"</h3>&nbsp;N: What influenced your character? You are such a sincere person, who can reflect clearly about the complex, which speaks of intelligence, and simplicity, but it does not mean that you are a superficial person in yourself. On the contrary, you rather express feeling on how good all will be, and you understand yourself and the laws of energy.V: The place where I was born and how I lived is also very important. I was a closed down introvert child. I was raised by my grandparents. I was occasionally bullied by the neighbour boys and I felt a certain defencelessness. I didn't have kind of parents around who would be able to support me. There were the 90s in the yard, there was no one to pay wages. From a young age, I counted solely on myself. I left for studies, knowing that nobody would help me with money. Therefore I worked and studied at the same time. I had no one to rely on and no one to complain to.I would like to think that I have achieved a lot. I earn my living as self-employed, and I pay taxes.N: Why pay taxes?V: I use the benefits of the State, therefore I consider it quite normal to giveaway a part of my revenues. Moreover, the circulation of paintings is relatively large, it would be noticeable. However I don't expect to retire. We do not know what will happen, how the political system will change, or what will happen in the world. The most important thing is that the streets should be calmer. But I do not expect much from people and it seems much more fun to live this way.N: How would you see yourself in retirement then?V: Surrounded by grandchildren, children and my cacti. Slowly and steadily painting my artworks.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/victor.ponomarenko.art/">See More of&nbsp;Viktor Ponomarenko&nbsp;Work on Instagram</a>&nbsp;This <a href="https://omnifinery.com/editorial/art">Art Story</a> is brought to you by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/instituteavetisian/">Institute Avetisian</a>, a contemporary art gallery, which is focused on Art Brut, Conceptualism, <a href="https://omnifinery.com/editorial/minimalism">Minimalism</a>, Video and Abstract Art. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/instituteavetisian/">Follow Institute Avetisian on Instagram</a> to see more exciting works and learn more about contemporary artists.&nbsp;Omnifinery - Feel Comfort in Your Individuality&nbsp;Text:&nbsp;Nelly ZaksOmnifinery Editorial: 2022 June Art Article 001

"An unemployed artist selling fast food."Probably, this is how Viktor Ponomarenko would identify himself. However knowing him better, we can assure you that he works very hard, creating and living in complete harmony with himself, while selling his "burgers" just as well as Mcdonald's.

Viktor Ponomarenko: Disposable Items - An Internal Conflict of Plastic Cups, Plates, Bags and Hamburgers

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