"I was nine months old when I painted my first work and I don't remember how I did it," says young Melbourne abstract artist Aelita Andre.
She has now brought her latest exhibition to her hometown.
She might not remember her first time painting, but her parents certainly do. Australian Michael Andre and Russian Nikka Kalashnikova, both artists, noticed their child’s desire to play around in their studio mixing colours.
The decision was made to set up a room where the young toddler was free to do whatever she wanted. Aelita was still just nine months old.
“The youngest professional artist, painting prodigy, genius and next Jackson Pollock"
Aelita in her studio Source: Instagram
Michael and Nikka brought Aelita's works to BSG gallery but didn’t reveal the age of the artist, saying only that it was a Russian female painter.
The curator loved the unabashed colour mix. Back then Aelita was just 2-years-old.
Later she would be described as "the youngest professional artist, painting prodigy, genius and next Jackson Pollock” by the world media outlets such as the BBC and The New York Times as her artworks travelled across the globe and exhibitions took place in New York, Hong Kong, London, and finally last year in a famed museum in Saint Petersburg.
Aelita was just three when the Russian Forbes magazine first wrote about the Melbourne-based artist who dreamed of visiting "mother Russia" one day. It took another six years to translate this dream into reality.
"Aelita [just] dreamed about visiting Russia one day - let alone having her own exhibition there," says her mother Nikka.
Russia is Nikka's second home after Australia. Having heard about the country from her mother, Aelita dreamed about the palaces, wild nature, and forests.
Last year, her dream came true as Aelita and her family travelled there, as the 10-year-old held an exhibition at the Russian Academy of Fine Arts Museum in St. Petersburg.
"She fell in love with Saint Petersburg and the people," says Nikka.
Aelita designs a lot of things on her own. For example, the exhibition in St. Petersburg, titled ‘Music of the Infinite’ included musical performances played by the child as well as live painting.
The curator of the exhibition, Elena Prosolova said it was a one of kind installation where music was organically combined with the paintings. She has never seen anything like that before.
"Her works have no age or time limits," says Proslova. "Visitors loved it."
Those feelings were reciprocal as the young artist discovered Russia and the culture at its fullest.
"We went picking up mushrooms in the forest with my girlfriends, and I visited the Hermitage and Petergoff," Aelita tells SBS Russian. "I have never ever seen anything like that."
This December, back in Australia, another dream for Aelita has come true. She is hosting a pop up exhibition in her hometown in a Melbourne gallery with a partial display of the big St. Petersburg installation which included 50 artworks.
Aelita Andre with her parents Nikka Kalashnikova and Michael Andre in St. Petersburg Source: Supplied
Abstract touchpainting and soundpainting are the techniques young Aelita is fascinated by at the moment. Inspired by the mystery of the universe and perfection of the nature, she includes physical objects in her canvasses.
"It can take weeks, months or years to paint something you felt inspired by," says the young artist.
You can see Aelita Andre’s work in the exhibition titled ‘Music of the Infinite' showing at Glow studios in West Melbourne until 10 Dec 2017.
