Interview by Jimon

1-Where do you currently live and create?  Moscow, Russia.

2-What is your earliest childhood memory of making art? I used to create installations from my sister’s dolls and toys.

3-What did your path to becoming an artist look like? It was very long. At 30 years old I realized that I want to create art, and my artist career started only three years later, in 2016. In the last five years I have sold more than 2000 pieces of artwork worldwide.

4-Did you study art or is it inherent? I am self thought, I studied art through watching movies and reading books.  I don’t have any special artistic education.

5-How would you describe Pavel Kuragin? Calm, creative, liberal.

6-Is there any reality behind the characters you paint? There is no reality behind the characters I paint, they all come from my imagination. I try to make my characters match my feelings.

7-What emotion do you expect to be on people’s faces when they look at your art? Wonder, a palette of emotions that can help the audience solve their problems.

8-Do you have motto on how to live life? Live in the moment and vibe. Come out of your comfort zone and create.

9- What influences you as an artist? Irony in general. Also finding the dark sides of nice people and finding good sides of bad people.

10-Do you have a place/person/thing that you visit for inspiration?  My parents’ house, mountains and places I’ve never been to.

11-When you are not painting where would someone find you?  Most of the time I am painting. If I have time, I meet up with friends, and visit art openings.

12-If a movie was to be made about your life, where would it ideally take place and who would be the actor playing your part? Diego Luna or Toby Maguire. They are the ideal people to show my personality and art career. It would take place in three cities: Moscow, Barcelona, Kirov.

13-How do you describe success as an artist? Success to me is to paint all the time. It doesn’t matter if the work is sold or not. Getting true pleasure from painting and the process of it all. Love your work and don’t depend on other people’s opinions.

14-Name three things you can’t live without in your studio? A lot of acrylic paint, paper and big canvases.

15-If you could have dinner with three artists living/dead who would be at your table? Not to be original; Salvador Dali, Picasso, and Rene Magritte.

16-How would someone find you on Social media? Instagram @zadumki

17-Please name the first thing that comes to your mind while reading the following:

Art=Air

Food=Hedonism

Sports=Laziness

Politics=Dirt

Poor=Choice

God=Personal

Rich=Success

Luxury=Narcissism

Sex=Games

Picasso=Genius

Religion=Marketing