Critical Framework

The term emerging artist is not simple. Yes, it can be connected to age, but more honestly, it's about the stage in your career. You can be 25 or 50 and still be considered emerging, especially if you're entering a new phase or showing your work in a different context. The idea of being “emerging” keeps changing. Even if you have already worked professionally for many years, as I have, for over 13 years, you can still be seen as emerging when your work evolves, when you shift direction, or when external validation is still catching up.

I've worked with galleries before, and I saw how those relationships change, too. Sometimes it's not because of failure, but because your values move apart. You grow, your ideas grow, and you start to feel that what once fit, now doesn’t anymore. It’s not always dramatic, it’s just a part of change. This makes the identity of an artist always in movement, not something you can lock into a label.

I don’t see this profession as something easy to break into. It's a very hard world. But I also believe this is not just about who is better or worse. I think it's often about luck being in the right place, being seen by the right people. There are so many talented artists around. What makes a difference isn't just talent. It's persistence. And maybe some kind of madness inside, which doesn't let you stop.

For me I’m very ambitious. But it’s not because I want to be famous. It’s because I have to be. I don't have anything else. I don’t have children. I won’t be leaving anything behind like some kind of family heritage. I don’t even have a connection with my own family anymore. I’m alone in this world. And art is the only thing that gives me meaning. It’s not a hobby. It’s not a job. It’s my way to stay alive. It’s the reason I’m still here.

When people talk about what their kids will say about them, or what they will leave behind, I cannot relate to that. For me, it's about here and now. My existence. My presence. Maybe I have another 30 summers to live, if I’m lucky. And every one of them matters. So this term, emerging artist feels rhetorical for me. I’m not trying to emerge, I’m trying to exist, to express, to leave a mark that feels real. My art is how I reflect on this world. It’s not a stage of a career. It’s a way of being.