{"id":34330,"date":"2026-01-25T11:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T11:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/?p=34330"},"modified":"2026-01-26T03:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T03:21:10","slug":"katerina-kirik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/2026\/01\/25\/katerina-kirik\/","title":{"rendered":"Katerina Kirik"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"34330\" class=\"elementor elementor-34330\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36e6f68 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"36e6f68\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9a4bbe0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9a4bbe0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 22-05-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Year of birth: 1981<br \/>Your education: Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow<br \/>Describe your art in three words: Flow, current, wind, energy<br \/>Your discipline: For now, it is the form of a vase, but I think this is just the beginning.<br \/><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kirik.keramic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa70929 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"aa70929\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20b0f49 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"20b0f49\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-34332 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Image-03-12-25-10-e1768553897871.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Image-03-12-25-10-e1768553897871.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Image-03-12-25-10-e1768553897871-300x234.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Image-03-12-25-10-e1768553897871-768x599.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Image-03-12-25-10-e1768553897871-600x468.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/h4><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your professional background is in finance, hospitality, and interior design. What moment or inner shift led you to fully commit to clay and sculptural ceramics?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, at the time when I was applying for higher education, finance and law were the most popular fields. I did not work in my specialty for long, as I quickly realized that a dress code was not for me. From then on, my path was entirely creative: working with jewelry from India, running an event agency and creating celebrations, doing interior renovations in apartments and chalets, and even opening a restaurant in Krasnaya Polyana. Later came a reset and a pause due to the joyful experience of maternity leave.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I happened to come across a video in my feed showing a pottery wheel\u2014how hands give birth to form\u2014and it captivated me visually, so I decided to try it. In the end, however, I focused on hand-building. I feel the clay better this way and can move at my own rhythm, rather than the rhythm of the wheel. I never plan or sketch my vases in advance; I find that boring. What truly interests me is the flow of the process and where it leads\u2014so-called intuitive sculpting, when it is not the mind or the eyes that shape the work, but some deeper essence of yourself that wants to manifest through the clay. In the end, there is a childlike sense of joy, because it is always a surprise.<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water is a recurring presence in your work &#8211; rivers, sea ripples, flowing energy. What does water symbolize for you personally and artistically?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">By a twist of fate \ud83d\ude42 I moved ten years ago from the bustling and cold Moscow to Sochi to warm up.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looking at water is always calming; waves are the rhythms of life, the restoration of our energy \u2014 that is what water means to me. Sochi is full of mountain rivers and waterfalls. The water there is so different, always a living energy. I suppose I looked at it so intensely that I began to recreate it myself \ud83d\ude42<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I really love leaving my fingerprints on the clay, as if they were the ripples of the sea. It creates the feeling that the vase is breathing and moving, yet remains still.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34333 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Morskaya-2025.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Morskaya-2025.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Morskaya-2025-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Morskaya-2025-769x1024.jpg 769w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Morskaya-2025-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Morskaya-2025-600x799.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Katerina Kirik | Morskaya | 2025<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of your vases resemble human bodies, often imperfect and asymmetrical. Why is bodily imperfection important to you as a visual language?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is a current trend focused on working on oneself, improving, and changing. I have always done this too\u2014examining my body, noticing where its parts are not the same, and trying to bring them into symmetry. I was truly surprised when I started sculpting and realized that my vases are also asymmetrical, and that this is exactly what is so pleasing to look at. It creates a kind of wave\u2014again, movement, energy. Our bodies are not static; they are energy, a dynamic structure that can be shaped and transformed. And it\u2019s important to enjoy the fact that we are all different, to observe and appreciate these unique features rather than hide them or try to conform to standards. I can see this trend gaining momentum now.<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">You work primarily with large-scale hand-built vases. What physical or emotional challenges does working at this scale bring?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, I realized almost immediately that I wanted to work with large forms. The only problem I\u2019m facing right now is that I can\u2019t fit my vases into the kiln, so I have to reduce their size.:)<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34334 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Perelivi-2025.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Perelivi-2025.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Perelivi-2025-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Perelivi-2025-769x1024.jpg 769w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Perelivi-2025-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Perelivi-2025-600x799.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Katerina Kirik | Perelivi | 2025<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Movement and lightness are central sensations in your forms. How do you translate something as intangible as flow or energy into clay?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Clay is a medium that carries human energy. I simply pass on my own \u2014 it\u2019s that simple. In this sense, I like to see people through their creative work.<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your works balance strength and fragility. How do you perceive this duality, and is it connected to your understanding of the human condition?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">An interesting observation. I would say lightness and strength \u2014 and these are no longer contradictions \ud83d\ude42 My vases are people, living beings. Each one is different and beautiful, and you can talk to them. That\u2019s why glazing them is so difficult for me. It feels as if I\u2019m hiding them, wrapping them in dresses and cloaks \ud83d\ude42 Some of them remain in raw clay \u2014 I feel they will find their buyer, someone who doesn\u2019t need them to wear clothes \ud83d\ude42<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34335 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Reka-2025.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"1399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Reka-2025.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Reka-2025-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Reka-2025-769x1024.jpg 769w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Reka-2025-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Katerina-Kirik-Reka-2025-600x799.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/> Katerina Kirik | Reka | 2025<\/p><h4 style=\"font-weight: 400\">You also teach adults in your studio. How does teaching affect your own practice and perception of clay?<\/h4><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">When you watch how people interact with clay, you realize how different everyone is. The calmer and more relaxed a person is, the faster they connect with it.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">I usually begin talking about clay with these words: \u201cDon\u2019t rush \u2014 it needs your love and gentleness \ud83d\ude42 Make friends with it, and it will do everything the way you want.\u201d<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">For some, it works from the very first try.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Year of birth: 1981Your education: Financial Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation, MoscowDescribe your art in three words: Flow, current, wind, energyYour discipline: For now, it is the form of a vase, but I think this is just the beginning.Instagram Your professional background is in finance, hospitality, and interior design. What moment or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34330"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34921,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34330\/revisions\/34921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visualartjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}