Mission to make connections and collaborations
THE GLITTERING, modernist energy-rich port of Aktau on the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan – with its cold desert climate, lying mostly below sea level – sounds about as far from Caversham as you can imagine. The daughter of engineers, Yuliya Martynova was encouraged to enter law and, for many years, (having gained three law degrees as well as marketing qualifications) she worked primarily for oil companies, in Aktau, Almaty – Kazakhstan’s capital – as well as Aberdeen, London and Russia.
In 2014 she met her British husband while she was living in Croydon; his job took them to live close to Red Square in Moscow for a while. But then they returned to London and, in 2015, Yuliya dramatically decided to give up the business world – and switch to art, which she had last done seriously while at school. “It is quite a story! My sister, who is an interpreter, had visited an Indian guru. The guru told her, ‘You will be swapping products from one side of Russia to the other’, and he added, ‘You have a sister, and she is an artist’. “At the time, I wasn’t an artist. In fact at that point I was working for a concierge service helping wealthy people settle in London. I was losing motivation – I had three degrees, and was helping people to choose wallpaper. So about six months later, I said ‘Yes!’ I will become an artist..
“It was scary. But I am a risk taker. I started off doing small paintings, in water colour and oils, which has always been my medium, then my paintings got bigger. Within a short time, I had been added to Saatchi’s new artists list and, within two months, I had sold my first painting for $2,000!…confidence grew…
“I painted a lot, some small works at lower prices, but in time my confidence grew. I was an early user of online to sell my work, and the sales grew rapidly. But I also started to get my work into bigger exhibitions, moving in professional circles, as well as learning a lot behind the scenes, such as the logistics of packing and sending my work. “By the time of Covid, it was my best years yet, as I was already online, while everyone else was just starting to discover it. I sold lots of paintings! I had a studio in Wimbledon, where we were then living. But I was pregnant, and we took the decision to move out of London and came to Caversham. “Things are now changing, and I think there is a push-back against online. People want to look at art on a wall, they like to take some time before making their decision. So now I am both ‘off the ground’ and ‘on the ground’!”
Yuliya’s work is now available through a Florida-based gallery as well as one in London’s Crystal Palace; the London-based online gallery Degreeart also now offers inperson residencies, which Yuliya is looking forward to taking part in. Now firmly based in Caversham with her husband and young daughter, Yuliya has been reaching out to the local artistic community, with her first foray into ‘art trails’ last spring, when she took part in the Henley trail.
Then in December 2024 she launched a two-month residency at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley – sharing the space with Caversham perfumier Gabriel de Carvalho. “I had seen Gabriel’s work during the Caversham Arts Trail last May, and suggested to him that I would exhibit paintings that were based on episodes in my life – for example my teenage years, my corporate life; I persuaded him to create perfumes to complement the various chapters”. Yuliya was thrilled with the response. “I was overwhelmed – it was such a successful exhibition. I felt it was the best interaction with the visitors, and lifted me as an artist, because it gave people such an enriching experience… it took people to the next level of understanding art”.
Making connections is now Yuliya’s mission and, having taken part in the Caversham Art Trail this May, she will be returning to Henley in July with a solo exhibition at the Old Fire Station from July 9-16, coinciding with this summer’s annual Henley Festival. “You never quite know who is going to come to the gallery… what I hope is to make more connections and create more collaborations. It isn’t about selling; I want to put my work out there for people to experience. But you never know, they may come back, after thinking about my art!”
Find out more: martynova.co.uk Old Fire Station Gallery, 52 Market Place, Henley, RG9 2AG
Exhibition: July 9-16
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