It has now been three weeks since the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. Most of us are witnessing the horrors currently taking place through our phones and television screens. More than three million people have now fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations (UN), and the European Union (EU) estimates that this number can climb to seven million. We can feel hopeless, but we are not helpless. There are many ways to help the people of this country during these tragic times. One of these ways can be by supporting the artists from this country whose lives have drastically changed. In this article, I highlight ten artists whom you can support by purchasing their artwork.
#1) NINA MURASHKINA
(b. 1985, Donetsk, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting & Ceramics
Website: ninamurashkina.com
Instagram: @ninamurashkina
“The main topic of my research in art is the psychology of sexuality, personal drama, raised in a cult.”
Nina Murashkina makes sensual and metaphorical art that is built on her own sexuality and empirical knowledge of herself. She studied Graphics Design at Donetsk Art College, Monumental Painting at Kharkiv Art Design Academy, Stage Design and Film at Kyiv Art Academy as well as Painting at the Art Academy of Jan Mateyko in Krakow, Poland. In 2009 she became a member of the National State Artists Union and of the Independent Artists Union. Murashkina currently lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.
#2) IRYNA MAKSYMOVA
(b. 1991, Kolomyia, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting
Instagram: @maxymova
For inquiries on the artwork, please email the artist directly at maxymova.iryna@gmail.com
"My works are a deep part of my inner feelings. Every piece is a manifesto, a voice, a call to action."
Iryna Maxymova was the first artist I interview for this platform and I have witnessed her career take off. You can read my interview with her here. With a degree in Graphic Design, Iryna started to paint full-time only two years ago but throughout her life, she was always painting in her spare time. She was living and working in Lviv, Ukraine prior to the war. She is now safe in Portugal.
#3) SERHII GREH
(b. 1992, Drohobych, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting
Instagram: @ferosone
For inquiries on the artwork, please DM the artist directly on Instagram
Serhii Greh, also known as Feros, started his artistic career in the graffiti art scene in 2007. In recent years, he has transitioned from painting on walls onto canvas in his studio, where he sometimes transforms his pieces into pure abstraction. His work is highly influenced by the first wave of European muralists as well as by the great Mexican muralist of the 20th century, David Alfaro Siqueiros. He lives and works in Lviv, Ukraine
#4) DZVINYA PODLYASHETSKA
(b. 1994, Lviv, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting & Printmaking
Website: dzvinya.com
Instagram: @dzvinya_studio
"My subject is mental health, relationships between people and the world. How humans treat each other, nature and themselves."
Dzvinya Podlyashetska has a background in Graphic Design. In her paintings, she depicts mundane moments of life in which she warps the space and flattens objects within her paintings. Details and bright colors are basic traits of her artworks, that are both naive and profound.
She was living and working in Lviv, Ukraine prior to the war. She and her family are now safe in Austria.
#5) INNA KHARCHUK
(b. 1995, Rivne, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting
Instagram: @inna.kharchuk
For inquiries on the artwork, please DM the artist directly on Instagram
"My key artistic principle is that the national authenticity I see is not in the external attributes but in the inner feeling of the people’s soul, which I try to depict in my works."
Inna Kharchuk graduated from Lviv National Academy of Arts, the Department of Monumental Art. Her work combines abstraction with a dash of pure realism. Her paintings depict Ukrainian culture through landscapes and its people in folk clothing.
#6) NATASHA BRICHUK
(b. Rivne, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting & Drawing
Instagram:@notuko.b
For inquiries on the artwork, please DM the artist directly on Instagram.
Works available found here
Natasha Brichuk began her professional career in 2016. Since that time, she has developed her own style and vision of beauty. She draws inspiration from her country and its folk traditions which are visible in the abstract folk motives. One of the central themes in Natasha's paintings is femininity and her personal desire for independence. The prevailing image is a silhouette of a woman hugging herself, with hands symbolizing her strength, self-love, immeasurable support, and willingness to rely on herself. Natasha was based in Ukraine but is now safe in the neighboring country of Poland.
#7) YANA HUDZAN
(b. 1994, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting
Instagram:@yanahudzan
For inquiries on the artwork, please DM the artist directly on Instagram
"In my work, I`m trying to explore human situations and dramas through the prism of natural landscapes."
Yana Hudzan paints still life paintings, landscapes, and unapologetic badass grandmothers in bold colors. Her work is iconic in the way she combines abstract landscapes with orthodox icon principles. Hudzan has a background in visual arts and restoration. She studied at Truskavets'painting department and at Lviv National Academy of Arts where she received her Master's degree.
#8) OLGA STEIN
(b. Ukraine)
Medium: Painting
Instagram: @asteinart
For inquiries on the artwork, please DM the artist directly on Instagram
"My art is connected to reframing religious and iconographic traditions and now I have an inner urge to draw victory."
-- (Interview with The Brooklyn Rail)
Olga Stein is a visual artist, restorer, and founder of The Fair of Contemporary Art in Kyiv, Ukraine. Prior to dedicating her time as a full-time artist in her studio, she worked as a restorer at the Palazzo Bandinelli in Lviv and at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. It is in her studio that she inaugurated The Fair of Contemporary Art last year. The event brought together a new Ukrainian community of contemporary artists who support, help and invest in each other's work. However, this all has changed, she no longer lives in Kyiv nor has access to her studio. Since the invasion of Russia, she and her family were forced to relocate to Cherkasy for safety.
#9) ALONA ANDREEVA
(b. 1993, Dnipro, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting
Instagram: @alona_andreeva_
For inquiries on the artwork, please DM the artist directly on Instagram or buy here
"In my paintings, I try to depict exciting and inspiring events. It is important for me to reveal the beautiful in the simple. Whether it's a portrait, a vase of flowers, or a rural landscape, it's all part of my life, it all inspires me."
Alona Andreeva studied at Dnipropetrovsk Theater and Art College in Dnipro, Ukraine, and at
The National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her paintings depict still life, landscapes, scenes of daily life. She lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine.
#10) JULIA LIASHUK
(b. 1994, Ukraine)
Medium: Painting, New Media & Graphics
Instagram: @juliliashuk
For inquiries on the artwork, please DM the artist directly on Instagram
"My works are about symbolic language and engrained memories."
Julia Liashuk is a painter and draftsman from Ukraine whose works have been exhibited nationally, as well as in Poland. She describes her artistic expression as being based on the reflection and exploration of everyday life subjects. Liashuk's conceptual and abstract compositions are created using painting, graphics, and new media. She employs charcoal, acrylics, and her own printing techniques. Liashuk studied at Krakow Academy of Fine Arts in Poland and she has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Monumental Painting from Lviv National Academy of Arts in Ukraine. She was living and working in Lviv, Ukraine but has left to the neighboring country of Poland for safety.
Millions of people remain in danger and in need of urgent aid as attacks on Ukraine’s cities continue. Here are more ways to help.
If you have any questions on how to acquire work from any of the artists mentioned above, please feel free to email me at Hello@thenomadsalon.com