"Octopus" Painting

Dear viewer, collector, or simply a dreamer,
My name is Anastasiia Grygorieva, I was born with the sense that I was meant to become an artist. From the age of four, I began learning to see and express the world through color and form — first in art studios, then at school (Taras Shevchenko State Art School), and later at the academy (National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture)
Before the war in Ukraine began, I taught painting in my own studio. For me, art has become more than just a profession — it is a way of understanding the world and expressing inner states, a dialogue with reality that cannot be fully captured in words.
Sometimes I feel that an artist is not the one who creates images, but the one who captures time. We cannot stop it, but we can leave behind a trace — a feeling that can outlive us. And perhaps this is what makes art a form of memory.
Today, at the age of 40, I live in Kyiv and have spent the past four years under constant military attacks. I create a painterly diary of the war, consciously focusing not so much on events as on sensations — fragility, fear, hope, and inner resilience. Perhaps this is my mission: to preserve these experiences for future generations.
I am currently working on a series of sunflowers. In these works, the flower appears alone — as a symbol. I deliberately change its familiar yellow color to red, blue, brown, violet, and light blue. Not every viewer notices this immediately, as we tend to perceive things according to familiar perceptions.
For me, the sunflower is a symbol of resilience. Even as it dies, it remains standing.
My country is going through an extremely difficult time, and I am living through this painful period together with it. Through my work, I share with you not the pain itself, but its other side — the beauty of strength, resilience, and the belief that we will overcome this path with dignity.