Kate Barvinska

My artistic practice is a phenomenological investigation unfolding at the intersection of depth psychology, ontology, and existential philosophy. I view the pictorial plane as a dynamic liminal space that captures moments of internal transformation and the borderline states of human identity.

The central vector of my research encompasses questions of choice, agency, and the inevitable existential anxiety that accompanies the subject's act of self-determination. By focusing on the critical nodes of personal evolution, I seek to capture the elusive moment of transition from passive existence to conscious being.

Methodologically, I operate at the intersection of figurative realism and controlled surrealism. This stylistic ambivalence allows for the deconstruction of familiar reality: realism serves as an anchor binding the viewer to the materiality of the world, while surrealist interventions function as epistemological ruptures, indicating the presence of the Unconscious.

My practice is divided into two contrasting mediums:

Oil painting gravitates toward a cinematic vision. Through specific framing, light work, and the dramaturgy of color, I create an atmosphere of psychological suspense, transforming each canvas into a freeze-fr...

• 2012–2015 — Postgraduate Studies, Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, Kharkiv, Ukraine
• 2010–2012 — Master of Arts (MA), Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, Kharkiv, Ukraine
• 2006–2010 — Bachelor of Arts (BA), Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Solo Exhibitions
• 2025 — Strength of Materials, Panda Platforma, Berlin, Germany
• 2024 — Views of Berlin, Kunst See, Berlin, Germany
Group Exhibitions

• 2026 — Survival Rituals, Basel Art Center, Basel, Switzerland
• 2025 — Paragraph 24, Gemeinschaftshaus Langwasser, Nuremberg, Germany
• 2025 — BAAM 9, Monopol, Berlin, Germany
• 2025 — Rock, Paper, Scissors, Serpen Gallery, Berlin, Germany
• 2024 — Popup X-Mas Markt, Berlin, Germany
• 2024 — Spuren, Berlin, Germany
• 2024 — Kharkiv Center, Blah-Blah-Projektraum, Berlin, Germany
• 2024 — Contemplation, Object Gallery, Berlin, Germany
• 2023 — Phantoms of Kharkiv, Berlin, Germany
• 2023 — Glory to U, Berlin, Germany
• 2021 — Christmas Exhibition, Kharkiv Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (KhONSKhU), Kharkiv, Ukraine
• 2020 — Exhibition Dedicated to the Artist's Day, Kharkiv Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (KhONSKhU), Kharkiv, Ukraine
• 2020 — Constellation of Sviatohirsk, Sviatohirsk, Ukraine
• 2020 — Christmas Exhibition, Kharkiv Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (KhONSKhU), Kharkiv, Ukraine
• 2019 — Exhibition of Artists-Restorers, Kharkiv Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine (KhONSKhU), K...