Unfree Painting

Valeriya Nikuta is a Russian born painter currently living and working in the UK. Her work depicts the diverse range of human emotions through what she describes as conceptual painting; exploring the reflections of pain and struggle, love and violence, loneliness and the search for confidence in society and personally. In particular she has focused on the issue of women's rights through her own experiences and through what she witnesses in the world around her. Her work is not didactic, but rather leaves room for the viewer to engage in dialogue with the paintings, balancing the need to tell her own story while allowing the viewer to find something personal within them. The work is often provocative in order to reach out to the audience, urging them to respond and create dialogue in a time of increasing isolation.