BIO
Anastasiya was born in Ukraine and immigrated with her parents to US in her tween years. Having lived in New York for most of her life, she moved to Dallas, Texas in 2013 where she currently resides with her husband and three (for now) kids. Anastasiya has started drawing and painting in her earliest childhood and received figure-based atelier training growing up, yet she earned her bachelors and masters degrees in architecture. Architectural background installed the formal rigor, spatial qualities and strong design sensibility in her portraits. Over that last years Anastasiya has studied realist portraiture and figure privately with artists she admires. The private studies helped Anastasiya to define her aesthetic voice and sense of expression. Currently Anastasiya focuses on portraiture in her art practice and teaches drawing and design studios at the University of Texas at Arlington. She participates in portrait society face-offs, competitions and events of various types and works hard to find recognition as an emerging artist.
Anastasiya’s portrait work is known for its focus on her subject’s identity and mystical inner state of emotion. Her current series focus on a woman as a locus of force that is expressed through and found in motherhood. Anastasiya depicts mothers of large families, mothers of one, mothers through adaption, mothers through birth, spiritual mothers, and biological mothers all united by their ineffable mystical inner strength and tacit beauty that result from self-denial for the sake of someone else.
Anastasiya’s paintings invoke an intimate connection with her subjects and provoke a dialogue about the role of tradition, personal choice and freedom in the age of feminism. Is motherhood a part of women’s rights? Anastasiya’s subjects captured with fidelity question just that when you stare into their eyes.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I draw and paint people that possess answers. Currently I capture mothers in search of defining the role of tradition and the extend of personal choice that women actually have in the current age. I want to know if motherhood is a right and if a modern woman can make this choice free of stigma and judgement. I paint mothers of various household sizes, mothers by adaption, biological mothers, spiritual mothers, mothers who always dreamed to be mothers, accidental mothers, young mothers, old mothers and all in search of commonalities that would allow me to come closer to finding answers to my rhetorical questions.
Secretly I hope to absorb and never let go of the forces that I behold when I paint them.
Realism is my preferred style because I choose to maintain as much integrity to the visual appearance of my subjects as I can. Why? Because I believe that there is a profound interlink between the external and the internal. I believe that an individual deserves every wrinkle on her face. I think that being very curious and very attentive earns you the right to judge a book by its cover. I stare into the eyes of my subjects for many hours and at some point I think I understand their them. Maybe I’m delusional, but I enjoy this belief.
CV:
EDUCATION
01.18-PRESENT. Private study with Scott Waddell.
06.16-10.18. Watt Atelier. Classical Fine Art School.
09.14-06.16. University of Texas at Arlington CAPPA SOA. Masters of Architecture. TX
09.2007-09.2012. The Cooper Union for Advancement of Science and Art. Bachelor of Architecture. NY
09.2005-09.2006. Bennington College. Liberal Arts. VT
09.2003-08.2005. Huntington School of Fine Arts. Studio Art. NY
MEMBERSHIPS
05.2014-PRESENT . National Portrait Society
10.2018-PRESENT. Poets Artists
WORKSHOPS TAUGHT
01.2019 . Using Riley Methods for drawing and painting figure. Art Wheel Studio. TX
PROFESSIONAL
06.2017-PRESENT. FREELANCE ARTIST . Art practice with teaching.
09.2014-PRESENT. ADJUNCT PROFESSOR . University of Texas at Arlington. Drawing and Design Studios
09.2013-PRESENT. FREELANCE RENDERER . FK Design. Visualization of Architectural ideas.
02.2018-06.2018. INSTRUCTOR . Hull Academy of Art. Taught drawing and composition
09.2012-082013. INSTRUCTOR/TEACHER . Huntington Fine Arts. Taught Drawing, Sculpture, and Painting Classes
09.2009-06.2010. INSTRUCTOR/TEACHER . Cooper Union Saturday Program. Taught Drawing classes to high school students
SHOWS & RECOGNITION
01.2019 Circle Foundation Of The Arts. Artist Of The Year Award
01.2019. HONARABLE MENTION. Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists. Classical
Portraiture in Digital Age. Bendheim Gallery of the Greenwich Arts Council, CT
01.2019. GROUP SHOW. Portrait Society of America at Chandor Gardens, Weatherford, TX
11.2018. FINALIST. Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition
10.2018. FINALIST. Global Art Awards, Dubai.
06.2018. FACEOFF. Portrait Society of America, Dallas, Overture.
09.2018. GROUP EXHIBIT. Portrait Society of America at Breckenridge Fine Arts Center.
10.2017. FACEOFF. Portrait Society of America, Dallas, Hull Art Academy.
12.2016. FACEOFF. Portrait Society of America, Dallas, Milan Gallery.
05.2016. OPEN JURIES SHOW . 3rd place in Dry Media Category. Trinity Arts Guild, Bedford TX.
06.2015. FINALIST. KROB WORLDWIDE DRAWING COMPETITION . Dallas TX.
06.2015. WINNER OF PAINTING COMISSION. ‘Opera Singer’ Oil on Canvas 5’ x 8’. Private Collection
05.2015. GROUP SHOW . UTA, Arlington, TX
05.2015. PANELIST. At ‘Open City’ book launch by Diane Lewis. MoMA, NY, NY
11.2014. FINALIST. KROB WORLDWIDE DRAWING COMPETITION . Dallas TX.
10.2014. DRAWING FROM THE ARCHIVE . RETROSPECTIVE . Cooper Union . NY, NY.
10.2014. INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL COMPETITION . NY, NY.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
04.2015. HENRY JAMES AWARD . AIA National award for professional and academic promise
09.2014. FULL GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP . University of Texas . Arlington TX. Recipient of the full scholarship and stipend for the graduate professional degree in architecture
05.2006. FULL UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP . Cooper Union . New York NY. Recipient of the full scholarship for undergraduate professional degree in architecture
05.2005. FIRST PLACE NYS FILM COMPETITION: FULL SCHOLARSHIP NYSSSA . Ithaca . New York NY. Recipient of the full scholarship for film school program
05.2003. DRAWING COMPETITION GRAND PRIZE: FULL SCHOLORSHIP HSFA . Huntington . New York NY. Recipient of the full scholorship for art studio program
PUBLICATIONS
09.2019. ADORN ME. Poets Artists Publication.
05.2015. OPEN CITY. book by Diane Lewis. NY, NY
COLLECTIONS
Private Collection. Weatherford, TX
Private Collection. Manchester, NH
Private Collection. East Hills, NY
Private Collection. Sea Cliff, NY
Private Collection. Glen Cove, NY
Private Collection. Miami, FL
Private Collection. Moscow, Russia
Private Collection. Plano, TX
Private Collection. Cologne, Germany
Private Collection. Flower Mound, TX
Private Collection. Kendalia, TX
Private Collection. San Antonio, TX
Private Collection. Ora Valley, AZ
Private Collection. NY, NY