By Rukh Art Hub in partnership with Mriya Gallery
Denis Sarazhin
Polina Kuznetsova
Polina Kuznetsova (b. 1985, Kharkiv) is a contemporary Ukrainian painter, performer, and independent curator, based in Kharkiv. She holds a degree from the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. Her work, immersing viewers into a dream realm that transcends time and reality, is often described as magical realism. Kuznetsova has exhibited at numerous exhibitions, art fairs, and auctions across the globe, including The First Ukrainian Auction in Cromwell Place (London), Affordable Art Fair in Stockholm, Art Vilnius, and the Context Miami art fair. In 2023, her solo exhibitions took place in Tallinn, London, and Kyiv.
Beans Diptych (2024)
Since her “Easter” project in 2018, Kuznetsova has been using the image of bean as a symbol of life, creation, and rebirth. However, one never knows for sure whether the bean, or an egg, will bring life. For Kuznetsova, it is about a hopeful doubt: will the new life emerge from this seed, after all?
During the cold winter of 2024, amidst the continuing full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the symbol of bean emerged in her art again, and became of even more importance to her. With Beans paintings, Polina states: “No matter how long may the war last, everything will end with spring and fresh sprouts.” In the portrait of woman with a bean in her mouth, she also highlights the creative and life-giving power of women: not only in the literal sense, but also in the sense of art and craft.
Andriy Bludov
The Book of Plants, 2023, oil on paper, 86 x 59 in
Alina Anokhina and Alexander Anokhin
Alexander Anokhin (b. 1988, Kharkiv) is a contemporary Ukrainian painter now based in Lviv. He graduated from the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts in 2014. Despite having a degree in arts, Anokhin initially hesitated to fully invest himself in the craft. For a couple of years after graduating, he continued drawing only as a hobby. However, the pandemic of 2020 and the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 became final catalysts for Anokhin’s plunge into the full-time artistic career.
One of the main themes Anokhin is focused on in his art is the mental state of people experiencing war—a social problem that he is deeply concerned about. In his paintings, he depicts scenes from everyday life, but with underlying currents of emotions that his characters, scarred by the war, experience. At first glance, these scenes may appear ordinary, but when looked at closer, evoke a sense that something is off; something within them unsettles us, though we may struggle to pinpoint exactly what it is.
Alina Anokhina (b. 1988, Kharkiv) is a contemporary Ukrainian artist currently based in Lviv. She graduated from the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Fine Arts in 2013. Anokhina’s artistic interest lies in themes related to womanhood. Through her art, she explores various experiences and emotions that women go through, as well as different manifestations of women’s beauty in Ukrainian culture and ancient myths. Her most recent paintings explore the beauty and resilience of women in the context of war. “The war reveals the incredible power of women that can’t be seen in different circumstances,” states Anokhina.
Nina Murashkina
2023, acrylic, canvas on board, 47 x 78in
Nina Murashkina (b. 1985, Donetsk) is a multi-disciplinary Ukrainian artist currently based in Spain. She works with painting, graphics, ceramics, and performance, creating highly erotic and metaphorical art, weaved from her personal sexual and emotional experiences. Murashkina’s vivid aesthetic is influenced by Ukrainian naive art, Indian and Japanese imagery, as well as ancient mythology.
“I‘m erotic and see the world in an erotic context,” Murashkina states. She describes her own artwork as “the delicious details from the Subconscious and the extreme limits allowed in social relations.” Her goddess-like heroines embody the dual nature of the woman: lustful and innocent, provocative and tender, brutally honest and darkly mysterious.
Murashkina exhibited widely across the globe, including the Hamptons Fine Art Fair (NY), SCOPE Miami, Fresh Art Fair (UK), Aberdeen Art Fair (UK), NordArt contemporary art exhibition (DE), and Affordable Art Fairs in Hampstead (UK), New York, and London. Her most recent solo exhibitions took place in Lysenko Gallery (Paris), Test Gallery (Barcelona), Coya Gallery (Abu-Dhabi, UAE), and Dukley Art Gallery (Montenegro). Her works belong to private collections in Ukraine, China, United States, Japan, Canada, and numerous countries in Europe. Her “Still Waters Run Deep” ceramic series won the Best Design of the Year award at the FAD Art Awards 2023 and was exhibited in Disseny Hub in Barcelona.
acrylic golden leaf, canvas on board, 2023
acrylic golden leaf on, linen, 50 x 40 cm, 2022
acrylic golden leaf on linen, 80d cm, 2021
Kostiantyn Zorkin
Ave Libertatemaveamor
Ave Libertatemaveamor, Blood series, 2023, ink on paper, 8 x 11 in
Maria Kulikovska
watercolors on paper, 57 x 41 in
Maria Kulikovska (b. 1988, Kerch, Cremia) is a Ukrainian multidisciplinary artist, architect, actionist-performer, researcher, and lecturer. She holds two master’s degrees: from the National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture in Kyiv (Architecture of Buildings and Structures) and from Konstfack University in Stockholm (Fine Arts). After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, Kulikovska
left her hometown and moved to Kyiv, where she was based until 2022. One month after the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Maria together with their newborn baby was forced to flee from Kyiv to Uzhorod, and later—to Linz, Austria. She is currently based at the Helsinki International Artist Program (HIAP), granted by the Ukraine Solidarity Residencies Program in Helsinki, Finland.
Kulikovska has exhibited worldwide, including the Museums of Jossingfjord Viten (Norway), Zurich Gallery Weekend (Switzerland), Helsinki International Art Program (Finland), Albertina Modern (Vienna, Austria), Double Q Gallery in Hong Kong (China), Weserburg Museum (Bremen, Germany), Goethe Institute in Baku (Azerbaijan), Accelerator Museum (Stockholm, Sweden), Artivist Lab (Prague, Czech Republic), National Gallery in London (UK), British Parliament (London, UK), Saatchi Gallery (London, UK).
Tata Kolesnik
Tata (Tetiana) Kolesnik (b. 1982, Kharkiv) is a Ukrainian contemporary painter currently based in Germany. Kolesnik was classically trained in painting under the guidance of the renowned Ukrainian artist, Eugen Bykov. Her exquisite aesthetic is greatly influenced by old European masters, with the delicate incorporation of Ukrainian traditional visual motifs.
Kolesnik’s exhibition history includes numerous solo and group shows across the world. Her art was showcased in the First Auction of Ukrainian Art at Cromwell Place (London). She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions across the US, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, and Denver.
Tetiana Albitska-Kostomarova is a Ukrainian contemporary sculptor from Kharkiv. She graduated from the Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts in 2003 with a degree in monumental sculpture. She works with natural and artificial stone, wood, bronze, and clay. The themes of womanhood and motherhood are the primary focus of her art.
In recent years, Kostomarova has predominantly created miniature-sized sculptures. Her most recent series embody a harmonious blend of sophisticated volumetric modeling, lyrical elements, and subtle humor. Each piece radiates a cheerful and carefree energy, mirroring Tetiana’s own personality and zest for life.
Additionally, Kostomarova collaborates with museums. One of her notable projects involved creating tactile replicas of renowned masterpieces to allow visually impaired visitors to engage with the paintings.
Vachagan Narazyan
30 x 45 cm, 2021
Oleksii Shcherbak
Oleksii Shcherbak is a Ukrainian contemporary artist from Chernihiv. He graduated from National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in 2019 and Atelier Olivier Blanckard at École des beaux-arts de Paris in 2022. Shcherbak’s artwork transports viewers to a fantasy world akin to a grotesque fairytale. Through his art, the mundane undergoes a breathtaking transformation, and the constraints of everyday life are eclipsed by extraordinary wonders.
Each character he creates seems to pen their own mesmerizing story, leaving us captivated with anticipation. Oleksii’s diverse portfolio includes striking illustrations for comics, gripping tabletop games, and even a stunning rendition of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. By employing a range of mediums, such as oil, pencils, and digital tools, Oleksii masterfully delves into profound existential questions about the essence of individuality, the omnipotence of love, and the intricate interplay between people and the world that surrounds them.
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