Katerina Zbortkova: When Britney Spears becomes a spiritual goddess

What is your creative process like?

Katerina Zbortkova: "I don't start painting unless my environment is clean and I have all my focus on this final task. Then I can finally dip into the void, relax and paint, which is my own form of meditation, channeling, mental detox, and acceptance."

What was the strongest influence you had when you were deciding to become an artist?

Katerina Zbortkova: "It was an inability to fit in, failures, pain, and sadness, a subconscious urge to heal my endless desire for validation."

Your art is mixing pop cultural references with subconscious symbolism. Or how would you describe it?

Katerina Zbortkova: "I often attempt to connect many dots that interest me at the time to create a bigger picture out of them, which by the end of the artwork helps me understand my internal world and the one around me. By the end of the painting, I have a deeper awareness of mechanisms within my subconscious. I trained myself to focus on the mass formation and current trends, in order to understand the overall heartbeat of the earth."

What's the essence of your work that viewers should be aware of?

Katerina Zbortkova: "My current major focus is enlightenment. I believe I am not the only one who is becoming tired of art that solely focuses on healing the artist as "an individual", with the creative mirrors communicating the ugly and unhealthy views that surround them. I believe that negative energy reinforces itself and shuts the door to elevation. I have noticed already that since I began focusing on health, happiness, and natural beauty within my work, my mental state gradually began improving. I believe that the New World will be created by rebels with a positive attitude and a desire to see creative beauty."

The structure symbolism in your work is quite unique ... 

Katerina Zbortkova: "Despite the realistic style, my paintings are structured with many layers and you may notice they are fairly textured. Often I induce new ideas as I proceed with the painting which brings the uneven surface out of the work. However, to me, the history of the decision-making becomes part of the painting process. It indicates the natural progression where humanity should be able to accept its scars of development."

How does your work comment on current social-political issues?

Katerina Zbortkova: "The beginning theme of my creative journey was often political satire, commentary of current issues, dealing with false realities such as feminism whilst adopting characters and elements of pop culture. I was vastly influenced by internet phenomena and memes which brought out my insecurities and then have subsequently led to a cathartic journey. My main muse for these topics became lilMiquela who accompanied me through 9 paintings and initiated the death of my ego. By the last Miquela artwork, I finally understood my debilitated mind needed to change and I was set on a pilgrimage which is represented by Britney."

With the art market as a fast-changing environment, how do you see the rise of contemporary art in the last years?

Katerina Zbortkova: "I don't see any rise coming. I perceive a return to traditional values."

If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?

Katerina Zbortkova: "Removing power from institutions run by the state."