Interview with Adrian Doni

NAIVA BRATISLAVA brings for you an amazing interview with the artist Adrian Doni from France, the winner of the STORY AWARD 2023.

He is the unique representative of traditional naive art and we are very happy with this interview, and we believe you enjoy it too.

What was your path to the art?

I've always had a penchant for art. The beginnings were shy, I didn't think then that years from now I would be able to become the person I am today. I started at the urging of a great artist, Mr. Ilie Boca, who channeled me towards naive art. This is how I discovered that I can reproduce on canvas the world of the village where I grew up with the traditions, customs and daily happenings. So painting became a passion that I supported day by day putting creation in the foreground but everything after real events. I started exhibiting in art galleries and the fact that my works were liked by the public always gave me an impulse to paint further. After I settled in France, new opportunities opened, especially on the exhibition side. I will follow this path and I hope to be healthy to be able to do this.

You say you moved to France. Where are you from? Where are your family roots?

My roots are in the commune of Radaseni in Bucovina, Romania. It is the place where I was as a child and grew up, and mainly the place where I bring to my canvas's traditions, customs, and incidents. Now my family is in France, we live in the perfume capital Grasse, me, my wife, my daughter and of course my little niece.

STORY AWARD NAIVA BRATISLAVA 2023

How do you perceive naive art?

The perception of naive art is different for each individual artist. In my case, I think it's a lifestyle and what makes it unique is the possibility to render on the canvas as I imagine a subject without rules,without prohibitions, without barriers...

Do you have a favorite themes and motives?

The events in the life of my village are all my favorites. Yes, I often return to my favorite themes, maybe now I see them differently, in a different form or a different time. Of course, they are not copied from old paintings, every painting is a new creation.

Where can we see more of your work?

My paintings are in collectors all over the world. Unfortunately, for the moment they can only be seen online or in the International Salons of Naive Art that I participate in. But not everything that is online belongs to me. Copyright laws do not work very well and there are cases where my name was used.

This is a very sad side of art and it is difficult to fight against it. So where can we see your pictures online?

For the moment, the pictures of my paintings can be seen on Facebook. Once I left Romania, I had to give up all the subscriptions, including the one of the website I had. I hope to solve it here soon and I will surely find a company where I can I host a new website.

We hope, too. And do you have any advice for a person who would like to try to paint?

It's complicated but I can say: work and perseverance, if this path begins there are no breaks. Courage and audacity in defining a path to become an artist. And last but not least, family support.

Thank you very much for interview.

Photos: Adrian Doni