BIOGRAPHY

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work explores the relationship between broken things and human beings. Moreover, it focuses on broken relationships in general, fragmented ideologies, and political missteps. It is a conversation between what happened, what is meant to be left behind, and how important it is to move forward – to reinterpret in order to transform.

As human beings, we find it devastating to see things breaking or falling apart. For me, I know it is the beginning of something new – something completely different. Once my mind agrees with this idea I feel the emotion of happiness and that’s where my work begins. Having the Power to change something, to transform my reality and, in this way, my own future: priceless.

Furthermore, I want to express my thoughts and feelings rather than copy paste the reality, or the picture of reality, into my work by painting something that already exists! My goal is to remake the way I see the world, including the emotions I experience while walking on this earth. My way of thinking and working changed completely when one of the most important human beings in my life, my grandfather, who assumed the role as my father, passed away in 2019.

I was and still am devastated – sometimes more, sometimes less. Ever since, I keep asking myself: is this really the turning point in my life? The turning point of my art careers? Am I yet another artist who is going to let this experience influence her work, and how am I going to think about death now? The answer: yes.

Our interactions amongst others throughout our daily lives is what molds us into the beings we see before us today. And this work, is one facet, one representation, of my life. Rebirth and new beginnings are still connected to my broken glass work but somehow it is deeper now and with more meaning as I work with the meaning of death in a way I never thought I might.

Growing up between three different cultures: Judaism, Ukrainian and Georgian traditions I learned very quick to adapt myself no matter where I was. Especially after we immigrated to Germany.

Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by the spiritual world, by old women who were talking about the future and read out of coffee cups and cards. I was sensitive to all those things – the two worlds in fused together in to one world. This idea was so adventurous that I started at a very early age writing and photographing people.

No one in my family was ever familiar with art. As the only family member, I often felt misunderstood and not heard that resulted in feelings of loneliness. The only person who I was able to have critical conversations about art and literature was my grandfather who have had a huge library back then in Odessa.

I did not know anyone who had read that much of Russian and English literature like him. That was our thing: he told me all about what he read, about Dostoevsky and Ernest Hemingway and I had pictures in my head of all those life stories. That’s where I see that art is not only a beautiful picture with flowers or a landscape, it is so much more, more intellectual to me than it could decoratively be.

People think, art is just something to look at and say: oh, that’s beautiful. But for me art is much more. For me art is the truth. It doesn’t necessarily have to be beautiful – it can’t always be beautiful solely based on the looks. It accumulates it’s beauty by the uniquely inherent storytelling to itself.