We are delighted to collaborate with Vinna Begin and offer new works on paper with 20% of sales donated to Mind Charity UK

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Vinna Begin (b. West Java, Indonesia) is a multi- disciplinary artist based in Montreal, Canada. She received her arts education in San Francisco, earning an MFA from Academy of Arts University. Vinna's work delicately balances shape, colour and light amid structures one encounters in nature. Portraits of lucid experience, rendered as soft hazy marriages of organic form, mirror her interest in the universal, contemplative and transcendental. 

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WG: Can you please share with us a bit more about your practice? What emotions or responses do you hope to create with your work?

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VB: By creating works that celebrate both the mystical and natural worlds, I hope to bring the viewer into a more heightened experience.  I aim to produce work that is both emotionally and visually accessible by harvesting the essences of forms and patterns seen in nature. Color and texture, in particular, have always been an integral part of my process. The paintings usually begin with a certain colour or gesture, which is then followed by a reaction to forms that appear unexpectedly.
 

WG: Your works have a beautiful ethereal nature and tranquil softness to them... 

 

VB: I'm pleased that my work conveys a sense of calm and softness. The good feelings and kind gestures I remember receiving from people are one of my painting inspirations. I sincerely hope that my works will be able to generate the same positive energy.

 

WG:  Oil and paper are key to your practice, can you please tell me a bit more about your connection to these materials and the qualities that you are most drawn to? 

 

VB: I used oil / wax pastels in the past to create a lot of drawings before transitioning on to more liquid mediums like gouache and acrylic. I exclusively use oil paints to make my natural mark-makings as they require the right consistency and a good balance of staining and mixing properties. In addition, I work with papers since it allows me to apply the materials in a more informal manner. For larger scale works, I use wood panels.

 

WG: Nature and landscape are ever present in your work. Is a physical connection to nature and landscape important to you or is nature as inspiration something that may be linked to ideas of your upbringing or memories? Where do you think this enduring relationship has come from?

 

VB: My earliest encounters with paintings were probably the literati paintings that my father possesses. The artists of these landscape paintings were not intended to depict nature realistically, but rather to express their feelings and thoughts via the use of natural shapes and forms.

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WG: What is your studio like? Do you work on one piece at a time, simultaneously on a few works or are you working towards a body of work at a given time? Please share a little insight into your working routine.

 

VB: I work in my home studio, a mezzanine with a view of the sky and city trees. Every day, I attempt to do automatic drawings and then work on multiple pieces at a once  to create a tiny series of paintings that will be part of a larger body of work for the year.

 

WG: Can you tell me a bit about the new collection of work?

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VB: I'm presently fascinated by butterflies and moths. Their essence teaches an important lesson about the ability to move through huge transformations with grace and lightness. It represents new beginnings, resilience, endurance, and transformation. 

One colour allowing me to imagine the next is a starting point for creating a sense of peace and meditation, as well as colourful abstractions that convey pure joy.

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