Iryna Shek

Born, raised, and currently living in Ukraine, I am a full-time artist whose practice is deeply rooted in personal exploration and neurodiversity.
For years, I traveled extensively, searching for my own voice, inspiration, and sense of self. In adulthood, receiving a late diagnosis of autism — and learning that I belong to the category of profoundly gifted individuals — finally allowed me to understand and embrace who I am. This revelation was profoundly traumatic and painful, yet it has become a catalyst for transformation.

My earlier work, Guernica of My Days, emerged directly from my personal history and the experiences I had to survive. It was a raw response to internal collapse, fragmentation, and the weight of unprocessed memory. From this body of work grew my current series, Beauty in Entropy, which represents a shift from rupture to awareness. In this ongoing research, I explore the balance between chaos and order, the presence of beauty within imperfection, and a deep respect for process rather than outcome. The work reflects an acceptance of instability as a natural state, something to be observed, honored, and shaped into meaning.

At the core of all my creativity lies a delicate balance between the internal world and i...

2006–2010
Specialist Diploma in Artistic Painting

Since graduating in 2010, I have dedicated myself full-time to refining my artistic practice. Over the years, I have rigorously studied and mastered a wide range of techniques, continuously expanding my technical repertoire and deepening my expressive capabilities. This ongoing self-directed exploration has been integral to developing my distinctive voice as a contemporary artist.

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2017
Emotions and Feelings Through the Female Portrait
Museo Comunale di Praia a Mare, Praia a Mare, Italy
(July 15–29, 2017)

Selected Group Exhibitions
2017
Sinfonie Armoniche
Galleria Merlino, Florence, Italy
(July 15–22, 2017)

2017
Oltre l’Orizzonte
Presented by ArtExpertise StoricidellarteinFirenze, Florence, Italy

2017
Arte e Colore
Galleria Merlino Bottega d’Arte, Florence, Italy