Exploring the Surreal: A Conversation with Scout Zabinski on Her New Solo Show at Gallery Carl Kostyál
In her latest solo exhibition at Gallery Carl Kostyál, artist Scout Zabinski continues to push the boundaries of surrealism and introspection, offering viewers a glimpse into her unique visual world. Known for her dreamlike compositions and evocative use of color, Zabinski’s work challenges the viewer to confront the complexities of identity, emotion, and the subconscious. In this exclusive interview, we delve into the inspiration behind her new collection, her creative process, and the personal stories woven into her art. Join us as we explore the mind of an artist who is unafraid to blur the lines between reality and imagination.
Your work often explores vulnerability and the rawness of human emotion. How do you balance these intense feelings with the aesthetic beauty in your paintings ?
The paintings for me are really about moments where you experience unpredicted and indescribable joy. You don’t really get a warning when things are about to feel like they’re just clicking into place. Those emotions can usually feel overwhelming.
For example, when I was making this show, I was walking around a lake with someone that I care about, that I run around alone every single day. But moving slower, we noticed a field of orange wildflowers behind the gate, just growing amidst the trees in the shade. They were swaying in the breeze as if they were waving hello. About a week later, when I went back to that spot, all of them were gone, except one.
I guess what I’m trying to say Is that beauty and the rawness or brutality of human emotion go hand-in-hand. You don’t get to experience bliss without understanding loss. So with gratitude i just try to focus on commemorating the beauty in those glimmering moments.
Your figures often appear distorted or fragmented. Can you talk about how this choice reflects your view of identity or the human condition ?
My pieces aren’t meant to be direct representations of myself because the fact that they are self portraits is not really essential to the painting. I want everyone to be able to see themselves in the pieces. to me, the emotion of a painting is more important than Duplication. I think the feelings we experience are both completely unique to us as individuals, but also simultaneously void of any uniqueness.
When you suspend your identity or attempt to, you make room for connection, which I think is the sole driving force of art itself.
Many of your works blur the line between the surreal and the real. Where do you draw inspiration for these dreamlike elements, and what do they symbolize for you ?
Most of the ideas for the paintings kind of just pop into my head as an image already created. I experienced or dream something that feels like it should exist in the world as an artwork, so that I can share it with others. The pseudo surrealism is intentional I guess because most of the moments that I try to portray on Canvas or not real. For example, I’ve ridden a horse and I paint at my studio, but even these paintings of such moments are staged for the painting itself. Art is like a magic trick to me.
You get to play around with clever illusions and degree of truth. People always think that I’m giving so much of myself away because I paint myself naked, but really it’s just pigment on a canvas so maybe there’s none of me in there at all.
You’ve developed a distinct style, blending abstraction with figurative elements. How did your artistic voice evolve over time ? Were there any pivotal moments in your creative journey that shaped your current approach ?
Well, I didn’t go to art school, I actually studied psychology, but I’ve been painting since I was a kid. I think in college though, a very distinct moment was doing my first nude photo shoot. I had always painted nude figures, but once I had those images, compositions just started flowing into my head.
Along the way I found what people like to call “flatness” in my work, but I think it really just comes from a desire to translate what I experience into something that both feels like the real thing and some thing that has a life of its own. Something that is uncanny, like you saw it in a dream, blurry and ethereal, but also completely recognizable.
How do you choose the color palette for your works ? Are there particular emotional or psychological associations you aim to convey through color ?
It’s just instinctual for me. I don’t really give it too much active thought, but when I’m making a painting, make a digital render first using images from photo shoots, and this helps me balance and create a cohesive composition. Then I can play around with the emotion in the figure and the setting before I actually start to paint.
Your recent solo show at Carl Kostyál Gallery was deeply personal. Can you tell us about the themes that were central to this exhibition ?
My most recent solo show is actually the least personal show I’ve made to date. “Violin Theory” is about moments we share that connect us all in our experience. I like to call them glimmers, the moments of unforeseen joy or bliss. I think artists are people who feel things much more deeply than the average person, then they digest and reverberate those emotions in a variety of forms to be shared with others.
That’s the superpower That’s why art has existed as long as humans. It’s kind of a martyrdom to me, to spend your whole life devoted to making others feel a fraction of the beauty that you experience. So this show was really about that dialogue and selecting moments that I thought were necessary to share.
Were there any specific experiences or moments in your life that directly influenced the works in this exhibition ?
All of the paintings are pulled from either moments I’ve experienced or feelings surrounding a memory. To be honest, I feel like I’m at the point of my life where I’ve never been so happy or felt so at peace.
I trust my gut and if something seems important enough to become a painting, I don’t really question it. I just let it have a life of its own regardless of whether or not it’s already lived a previous existence.
What kind of emotional response were you hoping to elicit from the audience at the Carl Kostyál Gallery show ?
I don’t come into shows with expectations. I think that’s a recipe for disaster. All I hope is that someone feels something that’s necessary for them to feel. That’s why I often don’t tell what the paintings are about specifically for me personally. It’s not really important at that point. It matters more to me what happens in translation.
Were there any particular challenges or breakthroughs while preparing for this solo exhibition ? How did you push yourself artistically ?
Every painting was a bit of a challenge and always is. Specifically the triptych though, I’ve never made a work this large and the subject matter being a cenote was particularly difficult. It’s some thing that you can’t really even describe to someone unless they’ve visited one. So to try and capture the magic of those caves with paint felt impossible, but also I think that is why that painting is one of my favorites.
The bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward.
How do you feel your work has evolved since your previous exhibitions, and did this show mark any significant changes in your approach?
I’ve changed my approach to creating art entirely. Previously, I would work six or seven days a week and not make time for much besides getting the painting done. It was exhausting, and I felt burnt out.
With this show, I made a vow to myself to not sacrifice my life outside the studio for the paintings. So I took two days a week off, even if that meant not finishing the work potentially. I think it made the paintings even better because I was ready to put the art that I was experiencing in my life into the artwork itself.
What was the most surprising or unexpected reaction you received to the pieces shown at Carl Kostyál ?
I asked Carl the night before the opening if he had a least favorite painting because he is always honest with me and I was wondering if it was the same as my least favorite work. At the show, he told me he didn’t have one which really shocked me, but also made me really proud. I think these are the best paintings I’ve made to date because I focused more on joy outside of artistic production, and I think that’s evident in the exhibition itself.
As you look back on this exhibition, is there a particular piece that feels like the heart of the show ? Can you tell us the story behind it ?
I think the triptych is the heart of the show. I already spoke a little bit about it, but I went to Mexico almost 2 years ago with an ex-boyfriend and we swam through a cenote in Tulum. It was lit up in a variety of colors from different algae that grew there. The sound of the dripping water from the stalagmites and the glimmering of the crystal clear water was breathtaking.
I wanted to bottle it up, take a snapshot with my brain and put it in my pocket forever because no photo or video or explanation could ever re-create the magic of that moment and that is the essence of this show.
How do you feel about the relationship between the viewer and your work ? Do you encourage a specific interpretation, or do you prefer your pieces to remain open-ended ?
The viewer is free to believe and experience whatever is necessary for them to see. My job is solely in making the painting. I have no say in how that affects them, all I hope is that it does make them feel something, whether that be good or bad is none of my business.
What’s next for you ? Are there new directions or projects you're excited to explore following this solo show ?
I’ll be having a solo show next year in Madrid. But what I’m really excited about is the new direction that I’m taking with my work. For this show, I experimented by making a sculptural set based on one of the paintings. I built and hand painted a human sized sardine and can, so that I could get inside and take a photo, literally bringing the painting to life. This is how I’m going to move forward. I want every painting to exist in physical form so that in my next show, the viewer can feel what I feel and step into the painting for themselves.
I’ve always wanted my work to include photo and sculpture so this project or new direction you could call it, feels like a breakthrough.
