Dinara Hertnagl was born in Yekaterinburg. Being a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, she also studied in a dance studio and worked at major world breakdance champions which led her to inspiration by the street world. Dinara lives and works between Vienna and St. Petersburg. According to InArt, she occupies a 36th position in the ranking of TOP 100 young authors. In 2015, Dinara founded ART you LOVE studio. Students of the studio lead an active creative life, visiting art residences around the world, work in studios and open-air; make full-scale sketches and taking part in charity events; conduct exhibitions in Austria, Russia, and the USA.
We know that you were born into a family of artists. How old were you when you painted your first painting? What was it about?
I started painting very late. In youth all my time I devoted to sports dancing and performing at the largest venues in the country. Graduating from school, I thought about entering the costume design department at the university, where my dad taught. So, I began to prepare actively for the creative exam. Suddenly I decided to change all my plans and to become an artist aiming a blow to the Repin Academy of Arts (the best art university in the country and one of the best in the world).
You graduated from the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture named after I.E. Repin. Which teacher impressed you the most?
The most powerful impression on me was made by Andrei Alekseevich Pakhomov, the head of the department. He was a man who had an impeccable taste, a powerful authority, and an extravagant approach to everything.
The author’s project “Talking Walls” was included in the top 5 main events of the fall of 2019 in Moscow and St. Petersburg. How did you come up with the idea of creating a “dialogue between classical art and street art”?
How long did it take to prepare these works? I conceived this project 3 years ago. After another exhibition, my husband told me, you know, you are doing really great, but too right, something is missing, some kind of hooliganism. I said that I have a post-academic injury and I am not ready for anything bolder yet. And then an idea came to my mind: why break yourself if you can invite someone to play a trick? And perhaps no one is bolder than street artists. So, I went to a street art museum with a notebook and wrote down the names of those I liked. Then, as it turned out, I wrote to the real “stars” they all answered me in a friendly manner but were busy. Then I decided to ask my friend Volta (Top Nine breakdance team). And he introduced me to KolyaSuper. Kolya turned out to be very responsive and literally the next day came to my workshop with “Oskolki”. Further, when the first examples of finished works and respected names in the world of street art appeared, it became easier. Later on, most of the guys joined us thanks to the Kolya.
What motivated you to create ART you LOVE? Was it a spontaneous decision or not?
Well, I would say that it is all about practice in teaching. I was inspired to create the ART you LOVE studio with my friend during the year we have been pursuing in developing it. When I met my future husband and decided to move in with him in Vienna, there was no question of work anymore, I just had to find ART you LOVE studio from scratch in a new country. Should mention a great help from a local celebrity, a smart guide, and blogger Olga Luchich, without her, perhaps, nothing would have happened. And in the studio, I try to give participants the opportunity to get acquainted with different media: from classical painting to avant-garde, from college to calligraphy. In addition to my regular lessons, such wonderful Artists as Si Lo, Sabit Nurimov, Natalia Lotareva come to our studio with master classes.
Do you have a favorite artist, the icon of visual arts you would like to borrow some techniques from?
At different times, Hockney, Andrew Wyatt, Hopper, Van Eyck, Richter, Wesselmann, Kiefer, Kusama, and many others had a strong influence on me.
How do you prefer to work on your paintings?
I like to stay alone and turn on audiobooks.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Traveling with my husband, going to dramatic theaters, watching art house films, reading novels, I also love meetings with friends, shopping, and opening days in modern art galleries.
How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
I do enjoy life.
