Biography 

I was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in November 1974. 

My early childhood was spent in a village with my grandmother, close to pine forests — a setting that left a lasting impression on me. Later, my family moved closer to the city, and I began studying art formally in a children's art school, where I especially loved sculpture and painting. Two of my early works were selected for a student exhibition in France. 

Life circumstances pulled me away from art for many years. I worked from a young age to support my family and went through many personal challenges, including domestic abuse and the loss of my son — an experience that continues to shape my inner world and creative vision. 

In 2014, when the war first reached Ukraine, I returned to painting. I couldn’t carry the weight of emotions in silence anymore. Art became my language of resilience, my space for honesty and survival. 

After Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, I relocated to Karlovac, Croatia, with my children. There, I found both safety and a renewed connection to creativity. I joined the local artists’ union (ULAK)

and began to exhibit my work again. 

I paint from lived experience — often painful, but always transformed. My series “Adulthood” is a reflection on growing up without fairytales, becoming my own protection, and learning to blossom quietly.