It's both a blessing and a challenge to follow in the footsteps of a parent who shares your profession. This journey is marked by both support and critique, cooperation and competition, forming a complex and multifaceted relationship.

For years, I've chosen not to participate in a joint exhibition with my mother, Larissa Smagarinsky. Although I've frequently lent my expertise to her bronze sculptures, enhancing their quality with carefully applied patinas, a few years ago, we embarked on a full collaboration to create a significant sculpture, 'Holy Kiss,' for the Blake Prize. The experience turned out to be exceptionally rewarding.

This outcome should not have surprised anyone. My mother and I share a similar artistic aesthetic, believing that art should be both visually pleasing and thought-provoking. In other words, art should evoke emotions or contemplation, even if it simply offers a sense of pleasure and satisfaction by presenting something unique and…