Episode 606 - Dmitry Samarov

The Virtual Memories Show

Artist Dmitry Samarov returns to the show to bail me out after a stressful couple of weeks and to explore his fantastic new book, MAKING PICTURES IS HOW I TALK TO THE WORLD, a survey of his art from the '80s to today. We talk about the process of selecting pieces for the book, what artistic legacy means to him, finding roots of his work in his childhood, and why the notion of 'progression' doesn't apply to his work. We get into the transformative experience of working at Tangible Books and how it's inspiring his new 'zine project, why he's culling a lot of his library and how he's deciding which books to keep, how his bookshelf paintings started to open him to abstraction, and why literary folks like Magritte but painters don't. We also discuss our monastic devotion to art and Antonio López García's devotion to painting his quince tree, why artistic memoirs tend to be no good but why not-great artists can be good critics, what it means to see his own books in thrift stores, how moving some furniture can change one's perspective, why he's against starting art with An Idea, and a lot more. Follow Dmitry through his newsletter and his podcasts, HU U NO and THAT HORRORCAST • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal and via our e-newsletter