VOSAP is honoured to introduce Russian artist and VOSAP Art from Heart contest winner, Ksenia.
Born and raised in eastern Russia, Ksenia has always considered art a beloved hobby that has helped her deal with some of the most challenging moments in her life. Having never received any formal training, Ksenia woud practice for hours, observing and learning from others to be able to master her skills.
“Art is very close to my heart and I am deeply passionate about it. When I go through these intense emotions, I like to express my thoughts and feelings through my paintings or other creative mediums like writing or dancing,” shares Ksenia.
Ksenia has been painting from a very young age. She’s inspired by the ‘everyday life moments’ and enjoys painting people and dabbles with portraits. She explores her art on different mediums, “anything I can get my hands on”, she explains except oil paints which she remarks, “I can’t really stand the smell!”.
Ksenia loves exploring ambiguous themes in her artwork, primarily representing how people hide their differences in an attempt to seem ‘normal. “One of my paintings shows a woman in an unkempt room as she is getting ready to go outside. You notice her bald head is covered with lines marked like tallies, and she covers them with a wig. For me, this is representative of a double life. One where she is struggling to go through each day which she marks with the lines and yet, she wants to hide that reality from the rest of the world.”
“Even my painting that I submitted for VOSAP, I wanted to explore how there are disabilities that we can not always see, some people experience psychological challenges that are not as evident as physical ones.” Ksenia comments on her prize-winning piece at VOSAP Art from Heart.
She further adds, “Through my art, I wanted to talk about the problems that we can’t see and can’t really prove to anyone but change our lives in so many ways”.
Ksenia stumbled upon VOSAP’s Art from Heart contest through a Russian art platform that promotes contests for artists. She was instantly inspired to participate because of the uniqueness of the topic. “I just left that I needed to contribute and I had an important message to share with the world.” she says.
And to imagine she almost didn’t send in the final submission. “Once I finished the painting, I wasn’t so happy about it and considered backing out of the contest but my sister insisted I go ahead.” she recollects about the contest. “She reminded me that this painting has been in my head since I was 13 years old and this was the perfect platform to bring it to life. I always wanted to do this for something bigger and meaningful and I am glad I chose to do it for VOSAP Art from Heart.” Ksenia adds happily.
She was also very impressed by the VOSAP Virtual Art Gallery, which she shared with friends and family. “They were amazed to see the art on display especially by specially abled artists. It was definitely new for them since they normally are used to classical art but they also enjoyed their experience.”
Ksenia is currently working on a book and exploring more spaces to share her art. She looks forward to exploring opportunities to volunteer with VOSAP and would love to engage with us whenever we’re in Moscow.
Team VOSAP wishes Ksenia an incredible journey in her art, and we hope she continues to be inspired and create inspiring art.
