Temporal Psychoexpressionism
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1988, to a renowned cityscape painter, I was immersed in art from a young age, assisting in my mother's studio.
I earned a BA in Graphic Arts and both an MA and PhD in Communication Studies and for many years worked as a professor of Design and Communications, while also creating visual identities and marketing campaigns for brands and personalities.
Since moving to the U.S. in 2016, I have been experimenting with themes and materials in my art, and the research brought me to early Christian art — icons and frescoes with elements of gilding. I am fascinated with the textures of fresco painting and gold leaf: the combination of perfectly matte, eggshell-like stucco and the enchanting, flowy shine of gold leaf creates sensational timelessness. I also draw a lot of inspiration from contemporary art, specifically — the “infinity nets” of Yayoi Kusama, “white writing” of Mark Tobey, and “branching forms” of Ruth Asawa.
Right now I am studying the concept of Time and its perception in different environments. In 2023 I created a style I call temporal psychoexpressionism. Using watercolors and a self-made spackling paste-based primer, I mimic the timeless allure of frescoes in my pieces, and then cover the surface with short brush or marker strokes, which I count in the process – the total count of strokes is often referenced in the title. I allow my hand to guide me and as a result, the patterns of the strokes are absolutely unique like human fingerprints. Each artwork embodies a memorable emotional moment tied to a specific location, usually referenced in its title as well. I often embellish the sides of my paintings with gold leaf, generating a radiant halo effect when exhibited.
I work at my studio in Jersey City Art Powerhouse district, coming in almost every day and often bring my 5 year old daughter with me. She is learning art making, just like I did with in my mom’s studio when I was her age. This fact for me is a confirmation that “Time is a flat circle” :)
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Artist Statement
I was always terrified of the power Time has over human minds and bodies. We don’t own Time, we don’t know how much Time we’ll have, and we don’t know what kind of rhythm it will play on our souls. At the same time, we are the creators of Time: it is an artificial construct that justifies our mortality. Time seeps through our lives: blink-blink-blink and all these people around, things we love, places we’ve been to — are gone. One day someone else will blink-blink-blink and we’ll be gone too. It’s easy not to notice Time, but also hard to reconcile with the changes Time usually brings with it. I struggle with Time-induced changes in my personal life too.
To cope with these experiences I created a Temporal Psychoexpression ritual:
> Whenever I experience a strong emotion, I find a rhythm to watch unfold — like grass bending in the wind, water ripples running from a boat, dust circling in the summer air, or clouds merging and glowing from the sun. Rhythms mark the time, tap-tap-tap, but there’s no interpretation, no judgment, just a simple registration of the moment that has passed.
> I observe and make a mental imprint of the rhythm, soak in the colors, sounds, smells, and air textures — everything that embodies that environment, in that particular moment.
> I channel these imprints in my studio: while pouring the sparkling paste-based primer and guiding the way it floods the surface of the board or canvas, while mixing and layering watercolors, and, finally, while pecking the artwork with hundreds of small strokes, using a brush or an acrylic marker.
In a way, my abstract paintings are unconventional infographics: each stroke represents a fraction of a second I spent to create it. Weaving and counting strokes on my canvases and wood panels is a scientific experiment: can I “catch” Time's tail? With my art, I aim to pin it down and box up a minuscule portion of a particular Moment that happened in a particular Place. And anyone is allowed to own it.
