Kira Rumak
kirarumakart.ca
Living things presumed as delicate often have the power to protect themselves. Considering femininity and delicacy as themes, Sanctuary depicts subject matter such as pearls, crystals, and plants recognized for their association with protection and care. Taking a dreamlike approach to the feelings of self-protection, parts of one’s self become altered to reflect on how they would best protect themselves.
The series Sanctuary portrays feminine expression and self-protection, representing
powerful beings in a surrealist style. Kira’s intention for the series is to show power and
contentment through how one holds themselves and to convey a feeling of safety
through the protection of what appears delicate. The paintings visually show the
softness of each figure while demonstrating power and confidence. Kira’s work pushes
the theme of self-protection through surrealism and feminine expression by
exaggerating the altered subject matter. There is beauty in the ability to protect oneself
About
Kira Rumak is a Winnipeg-based artist working in painting and mixed media. Her intention when creating is to communicate a story through art and to represent ideas that appear dreamlike and unnatural. Her artwork explores themes of feminine expression and dreams and art styles such as surrealism and expressionism. Kira aims to engage viewers to find their interpretation of her work and how they associate the subject matter depicted with their own experiences.
Artist Statement
Kira Rumak is a Winnipeg-based artist working in painting, drawing and mixed media. Her intention when creating is to communicate a story through art and to represent ideas that appear dreamlike and unnatural. While Kira primarily works in oil painting, she has also created pieces in printmaking and ceramics. When creating art, Kira is influenced by art styles such as surrealism, expressionism, and abstraction.
Growing up in a creative environment, Kira’s work as a musician and dancer has influenced her art practice taking inspiration from movement and relation between music and art. When thinking about the subjects depicted in her work, she imagines them in a state of performance and how viewers will interpret the subject’s story. Kira finds her work transforms performance into a still image, allowing her paintings to represent a story. Connecting to her experience in other art forms, themes of memory, feminine expression, emotions, and dreams are represented in her projects.
In her most recent work, Kira has created surrealist paintings focusing on dreamlike imagery and the feeling of being trapped in a dreamlike state. Surrealism commonly represents dreamlike scenes and unnatural combinations of subjects appearing in strange compositions. She believes surrealism shows an unfamiliarity with the subjects shown and how the art style explores the strange and unexpected that can appear in dreams. By using bright colours, all of her work may be disguised as happy, despite uncomfortable undertones in her work in the surrealist style.