Artist Profile Irina Metz
Irina Metz, Beyond Times, from Under the Bluebird Sky series, 2024, Mixed media (newspapers, acrylic, oil) on canvas, 23.6″ x 23.6″ (600 mm x 600 mm).
Metz’s radiant metamodern collage finds levity and hope beyond news cycles.
Artist Statement
The painting belongs to the series Under the Bluebird Sky that studies interrelations between mass media and the human feeling of happiness. The artist’s research is based on the Lippmann-Dewey debate which centers on Lippmann’s belief that mass media manipulates public opinion through biased information, while Dewey argues that mass media has the potential to educate and empower the public to engage more deeply in social and political context.
The metaphor of a bluebird as a metamodernist image is seen as harbinger of happiness and hope in the pantheons of ancient and contemporary cultures. People keep chasing the bluebird and its vibes in their daily life, forgetting that happiness and hope are always reachable as soon as one starts looking for them.
The artist uses a collage of newspapers as a backdrop for the bluebirds leading their way to happiness, showing that an inner state of balance comes from within the human soul and can be obtained any time regardless of the flow of the news cycle. This is true for any person in the world, which the artist emphasizes by using newspapers in different languages.
Artist Biography
Irina’s art reflects decades of intercultural studies that she carried out during her multiple journeys all around the world and while working on her PhD in Philology thesis. The pursue and perception of happiness have always been the main themes of Irina’s research in literature, history, culture, sociology, and psychology making it only natural to find their reflection in her art.
Irina studied oil painting from distinguished contemporary impressionists including Federico and Svetlana Perotti, Igor Raevich, Artur Shuvalov, and Bato Dugarzhapov to name just a few. Their techniques of transmitting elusive moments of beauty and joy to the canvas have been adapted by Irina to depict vivid impressions, treasured memories, and colorful dreams in her paintings
The artist has received a number of honored commissions including paintings for private collections and 5-star design hotels in Russia, Italy, the UK, France, the USA (California, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky) and the Maldives.
Irina regularly takes part in international art exhibitions and creative projects. Her paintings have been acknowledged by several awards and featured in a number of print and digital magazines globally.