Yulia Lenina is a visual artist, working in painting and collage. Graduated from Kyiv Academy of Media Arts in 2021.

She explores such personal themes as interaction of a human being with the Universe, trust to the world and chance. The main subject of her paintings is a landscape as a possible reflection of a human being. Collage is another tool for Yulia to explore the relations between an artist and the world. She applies even more abstraction to it.

She currently lives and works in Kyiv.

She is represented by Artios Gallery (USA). Her works are in private and public collections in Ukraine, UK, Scotland, Turkey and Russia.

Education

2021 - Kyiv Academy of Media Arts, Artist
2020 - MoMA, In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting

Shows

2021-2022 - Artios Gallery, "Winter Extravaganza" group online show, USA
2020 - Bougie Art Gallery, "Abstract Art Today" group online show, Canada
2020 - Artios Gallery, "Winter mosaic" group online show, USA
2020 - MERZ Gallery, "Schwitters' Army" group show, Scotland, UK
2019 - Artis Gallery Moscow, Winzavod. "Stazis" solo show (together with Alexey Andreev and Stepan Artov), Moscow, Russia


Public collections

2020 - "Kaleidoscope". MERZ Gallery. Scotland, UK.

Publications
Kolaj Magazine, This Week feature (October, 7, 2021)
LandEscape Art Review, Vol.61 (Anniversary Edition)

In my art practice I explore topics such as human interaction with the universe, trust in the world and the phenomenon of chance. As a person, I constantly ask myself: where is the line between chaos and control, chance and fate? When can I influence the result, and when can I just accept the situation and adapt to it? As an artist, I am looking for a balance between which idea I want to express and the ability to give the floor to the medium I work with. Thus, I myself become a "medium", a part of the creative process.

I am obsessed with color, it is my passion and the engine of the creative process both in painting and in collage.

In my work with painting, I chose a landscape as a symbol of the world around us. First, an idea appears in my head, its color image and structure, which are the starting point. Then the journey into the unknown begins: I often act intuitively, without a clear preliminary plan. At this point, I interact with, honor and play with chance: I follow the media, each time deciding whether it works for my idea. Using the expressive movement of the entire arm and body, I create a complex object from layers of paint, color and texture.

The final image of the landscape is interesting for its abstractness, when everyone sees in it something of their own, belonging only to him. Instead of displaying real reality, I give the viewer freedom of imagination, bringing to life associations, emotions and memories. I send him on his own journey, providing an opportunity to expand his perception of reality.

In the collage, my images are completely abstract. Magazine pages torn at random symbolize that very chance and accident, and my task as an artist is to transform chaos from scattered pieces into a single harmonious whole. It is a dialogue on equal terms, an interaction between the outside world and my inner self, when I accept and adapt what the world gives.

Abstract shapes, complex textures, layering, unpainted parts of the canvas or torn edges of collages give a sense of the complexity and diversity of the world which I am a part of.