Irina Gorbman: Intuition and Geometry
This article was written by Olga Troitskaya after her studio visit
I recently visited Irina Gorbman’s studio and would like to share my impressions.
Irina Gorbman is an abstract painter. A mechanical engineer by training, she came to art independently later in life. She speaks openly about this, both in person and on her website. Today, her work is exhibited in galleries and featured at international art fairs, but her artistic journey began with a deeply personal experience.
Painting became a way of healing after an illness, and she later began sharing that experience with others through her art.
INTUITION AND FREEDOM OF INTERPRETATION
“When I paint, I switch off the analytical part of my brain,” Irina says.
She works intuitively, without a predetermined concept. Irina also told me that she has been meditating twice a day for many years. To me, this awareness of her inner state, this ability to let go of the habit of analyzing and explaining everything, is precisely what makes her paintings feel so alive and distinctive.
At the same time, she is interested in what others see in them.
Sometimes viewers suggest rotating a painting, and vertical stripes become a horizon.
Sometimes the color combinations remind them of Munch or Cézanne.
Some recognize the Armenian alphabet in the rhythmically arranged marks, while others see human faces or animal figures in the patches of color.
Irina welcomes these interpretations with curiosity. A viewer may see something the artist herself never intended, and that becomes part of the conversation about the painting.
I asked what she does when she feels dissatisfied with a piece.
“I put it aside. Sometimes a painting needs to sit for a while. And other people may find something in it.”
My impression was that Irina values the possibility of preserving an inner experience in a painting. The experience itself passes, but the work continues to live—and, over time, may reveal something different even to its creator.
FORM, TEXTURE, AND CONTEMPLATION
The works are very different. Some felt contemplative, inviting me to slow down. Others conveyed playfulness, lightness, and vitality. Still others expressed tension and conflict.
Some are painted on round canvases, known as tondos. The absence of corners guides the eye in a distinctive way, turning each canvas into a self-contained miniature universe.
Small stones and minerals are embedded in the surfaces of other paintings, making them tactile and giving them a raised texture. According to Irina, natural minerals carry an energy of their own, adding to the sensations a painting evokes.
I thought of Susan Sontag’s essay “Against Interpretation” and her idea that a work of art is, first and foremost, a direct experience rather than an encoded message. “We must learn to see more, to hear more, to feel more,” Sontag wrote, challenging the habit of replacing the direct experience of art with a search for meaning. During this visit, that approach resonated with me.
The variety of Irina’s work allows viewers to find “their” painting—the one that evokes the strongest emotional response. I found mine, too: a silvery-blue painting with glimmers of red light.
“ALCHEMY” AND LAYERS OF PERCEPTION
Toward the end of my visit, Irina led me to “Alchemy,” a painting particularly dear to her.
The forms of vessels and a tabletop emerge in the painting. The contour lines create an energetic sense of movement. My gaze shifted from these outlines to the planes of the background, where the movement broke off, giving way to a shimmering sense of emptiness. I began photographing individual sections.
Irina remarked calmly:
“Yes, you can crop out sections—and they will be different paintings.”
This ability to see a fragment of a painting as something with a life of its own also has a practical application. Irina incorporates cropped details from her canvases into design: digital processing and mirrored repetition turn them into rhythmic patterns for wallpaper and textiles (I’ve included a photo of a wall decorated with one of these patterns).
Here, things come full circle in a surprising way, revealing Irina’s background in mechanical engineering: her feel for geometry, rhythm, and the relationship between a pattern and the scale of a space…
AN INVITATION TO THE ART FAIR
You can see Irina’s work at her studio in Dover or at the upcoming art fair in Boston:
Affordable Art Fair, Booth D11
October 22–25 | SoWa Power Station (550 Harrison Ave, Boston)
Irina kindly shared a promo code for a free All-Access Pass (regular price: $55). It provides admission to the fair on any day, as well as the First Look VIP opening, including a drink (Thursday, October 22, 5–9 p.m.).
Promo code: G-VIPIGFAB26
Select the All-Access Pass on the fair’s website and enter the promo code at checkout.
Many thanks to Irina for the opportunity to explore her work!