The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2023 - Issue 33

biteartistprofile viding the visitor with an experience rather than just art on white walls. "It's personal to me because I struggled to become an artist. With Notagallery, I try to represent an artist's site but also become a guide for art collectors and enthusiasts in the market. It's doing things slightly different to a traditional gallery.” Ivan finds relaxation in work and enjoys being constantly creative and productive. Otherwise, he goes to the gym or the sauna, has ice baths in the winter and travels when he can combine it with work. He doesn’t have a particular fa- vourite painting since they were made at different stages of his life. “Like most creatives, I am a victim of the thought that you’re only as good as the last work you have created. It leads to a lot of conflict within you but gives you drive, on the other hand.” The artist would like to show his work in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong and Milan which are on his bucket list. “So if you know someone out there - feel free to tell me,” he joked. He admitted he admires almost every artist out there since it’s about storytelling, and every artist has their way of telling their story, which he respects. “It varies on my mood. Some art resonates with me more or less depending on my emotional state of mind.” He would advise aspiring artists: "Don't talk about it, be about it. Don't forget where you came from and where you want to go. Don't fear taking risks; make mistakes and learn from them. See problems as opportunities and be thankful for what you've got. Treat people with respect in the way you'd want people to treat you. Enjoy your journey, chasing your passion, not money [as] money is the byproduct of your process. Trust the process.” In May, Ivan showed his ‘Matryoshka’ exhibition at the Red Eight Gallery in London, which he says thematises herit- age, family and stereotypes. It featured varied traditionally clothed characters, such as a blonde-haired couple on bikes with a scenery backdrop enclosed within a Matryoshka doll frame and graffiti-like shapes and waves on the outside. Each design pair has a city or type and country theme, such as Dutch, Amsterdam; France, Paris; Germany, Munich; It- aly, Sicily; Mexico, Tulum and, UAE, Dubai. The group exhibition ‘Ambivalent’ runs at his Berlin gal- lery until August 2023. It invites interested parties to take the time to embrace artworks created by national and in- ternational artists who share their perspectives and inspire them to reflect on the subjects at the Notagallery and its surroundings. Ivan says he would like to bring his gallery into the spotlight to allow more artworks to get their de- served attention. You can see more of Ivan Gette’s artwork on his and Red Eight Gallery’s websites. www.ivangette.com Images courtesy of Red Eight Gallery