After immigrating from Kazakhstan, this painter is aware of the luxury of being an artist
'It is kind of selfish to be an artist, in a sense'
For Vancouver-based, Kazakhstan-born artist Ilya Viryachev, it's a luxury to be able to live a life as an artist — and he knows it. He says that, with himself and his brothers in mind, his parents moved his family to Canada "to give us more opportunity." And Viryachev has a feeling that if he still lived in Kazakhstan, he wouldn't have necessarily had the opportunity and privilege to work in art.
It is kind of selfish to be an artist, in a sense. You are not building houses; you are not helping protect the environment. You could be through art, but...I think it's good to be aware of the fact that you are very privileged to be making art.- Ilya Viryachev
Ilya Viryachev was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan and immigrated to Vancouver at a young age. After graduating from the Art Institute of Vancouver, Ilya worked as an animator on multiple TV shows and later transitioned into concept art. While creating designs for cartoons during the day, he spends most of his free time on traditional painting, art installations, murals and being involved in the local art community.
Art Minute is a new CBC Arts series taking you inside the minds of Canadian artists to hear what makes them tick and the ideas behind their work.