Tatiana Potapova, a Russian-born sculptor living in Belgium, discovered an interest in clay at an early age. When she was a child, Tatian studied at a clay atelier for about two years. “As an adult, I always wanted to do this again. Thirty years later, I accomplished this dream,” she says.
Tatiana later had a chance to study sculpting alongside Luo Li Rong in Brussels, and then attended intranational masterclasses conducted by some of her favorite sculptors such as Grzegorz Gwiazda and Maudie Brady. But even with her extensive training, Tatiana didn’t always view herself as an artist. “It took me some years to realise that I am an artist. Working full-time sculpting and a couple of successful exhibitions helped me to realise this.”
Tatiana’s sculptures have a distinct style, embracing movement and depicting athleticism. “I like sculptures that are aerial, elegant, and powerful. I like to experiment with engineering and push far away the laws of gravity,” Tatiana says. “I suspect this desire probably comes from my parents who both were engineers.”
Tatiana has often been compared to French Impressionist artist, Edgar Degas, but she doesn’t mind the comparison. “Why not? I like him a lot, and I probably was inspired by him when I was a child. We have a large collection of his paintings in Moscow museums.”
Using mostly her fingers to sculpt, Tatiana works with models, including children and sometimes animals to capture their form and energy.
Tatiana is currently working on a life-size sculpture of her piece “The Skier” to be placed on a Switzerland mountain.
To view more of Tatiana’s work, visit tatianapotapova.com.
