Lost & Found Painting

From Russia to London, Canada, Kazakhstan, New York and Paris, my nomadic life is expressed in my work – a montage of deeply personal memories and eclectic cultural experiences. Sensing that time and movement has stripped me of a particular cultural identity, I identify as a “third culture" individual with a vast worldview. My subjects are sensual, my technique is rough; I de-emphasize color to reveal the raw and bare. This allows me to delve into specific moments, feelings, and places as an objective participant and observer. The idea, the constant dialogue, is advanced through landscape-like textures created with brushes, painting knives, bare fingers and hands. Each painting is a story, told in a visual and tactile language. As I continue to search for understanding and meaning in contemporary existence, I do not limit my explorations and discoveries to any single medium, utilizing painting, photography, and design as appropriate. ------------------- Studied Fine Arts, Architecture and Design. BA, MA in Graphic Design. International art director and design career in advertising, fashion and publishing for companies such Hearst, IBM, Harper’s Bazaar and more... mascha.gallery, maschashumikina.com, shumikina.com