MONTICELLO — There is definitely a whimsical, child-like joy — complete with bunnies and unicorns — to the art of Anyuta Gusakova, a Russian-born artist who will be a visiting resident at Allerton Park and Retreat Center starting April 9. And ‘joy’ is the word this artist uses often when describing the art she creates, from small ceramic animals to eight-foot-high resin and fiberglass pieces.
“I make sculpture and drawings that give people joy. I want to connect with their inner child,” said Anyuta, who immigrated to Canada in 2008. “I want to touch people to the point where they know how to be happy unconditionally. Like children, we don’t need a reason to be happy and to feel joy.”
Gusakova does not remember a time when she did not feel like an artist. There was a brief (two-year) dalliance as an interpreter after earning a linguistics degree, but she admitted “that was not my life. It was someone else’s.”
She is now a full-time artist and owns her own studio, Anyuta’s Toy Sculptures & Whimsical Fine Art in Vancouver, British Columbia. Gusakova admits that running a business can be stressful, so is looking forward to her two-week residency at Allerton.
“I need two things in my life: art and nature,” she said. “This is a beautiful opportunity to come, reconnect with nature and restore myself, and also allow art to just come out.”
Anyuta will focus more and drawing and plein air painting during her time at Allerton and will provide a public show-and-tell with a hands-on element during an outreach event from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 18. Attendance is free, but registration is required here.
“This is our first artist-in-resident who is working in plein air, meaning she’s producing sketches and drawings from real life,” said Allerton Senior Program Coordinator Olivia Bunting. “I’ve always been fascinated by artists who are able to do that.”
Gusakova’s goal is to help make the process for budding artists more improvisational.
“I will talk to people, explain what I do, what I’ve done through during the residency, then we’ll have some hands on. They will be able to sketch and draw — be creative to where it organically comes out.”
Art lover and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign graduate Len Lewicki sponsored Gusakova’s residency, as well as that of photographer Rozarri Lynch last year. He started helping artists while serving on several museum and gallery boards in the Seattle area.
“I got to know a ton of artists, including Anyuta. What I learned is just how hard it is to make a life as an artist,” Lewicki said.
That prompted him to help raise money to support artists, and when he moved to Champaign four years ago, he saw Allerton’s In-Residence program is a logically way to continue that passion.
“I just think the whole residency program at Allerton is a great space for artists, and they have a great setup to host artists,” Lewicki said, pointing to the apartment-style Residence that was partially created to lodge visiting artists.
“It’s an inspiring place to be an artist,” he added.
Gusakova also feels Allerton will be a perfect fit, even if for just a short time.
The best time is when I am relaxed and one with nature. That gives me ideas, so I think this will be very productive.”
Allerton is also taking applications until April 15 for the summer Rooting a Deeper Connection residency, which focuses on artistic and environmental innovation within the Black and Latinx communities. Candidates can apply here.
