Elina Kohanaya

I constantly paint what has fascinated me since childhood: the natural world, which I feel is filled with the subtlest, kindest connections between its inhabitants. Through my paintings, I depict living creatures in touching moments common to all of us who share this planet: feeding their young, admiring the beauty of a sunset, or immersing themselves in the breathless, dewy silence before dawn.

My goal as an artist is to reveal a world that is understandable and relatable, one that is deeply worthy of admiration and compassion. I also strive to convey the precise feeling with which a child views the world: for them, every caterpillar and beetle is an encounter with wonder and magic—a moment of learning through contact with the small, reflecting the idea of "as above, so below."

Another theme that profoundly interests me is the animation of inanimate objects, imbuing them with symbolism. I share the belief that every object possesses a soul, and I love to emphasize this gentle animism in my work.

My artistic practice is deeply rooted in my background as a medical doctor and psychologist. By integrating the principles of art therapy with my scientific understanding of the human condition, I strive to capture these delicate connec...

• Art Therapist, Art Therapy Center, Burganov Academy of Arts (2022)
• Psychologist (Postgraduate Degree), Donetsk branch of the Kyiv Institute (2010–2012)
• Professional Coach, Mykola Latansky’s School of Coaching (2010)
• Doctor of Dentistry, Donetsk National Medical University (1998–2003)

PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS:

2010 Magical characters of Elina Kohanaya, Circular Kinopanorama as part of the first Moscow International Film Festival for Children and Teenagers KOT,  Moscow, Russia

 GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2026 “Unadorned”, Meta-senses gallery, Ukraine online
2025 “Dreams In Pera Palace”, Istanbul, Turkey, Pera Palace,
2025 “Temporarily Here”, Meta-senses gallery, Ukraine online
2024 Vogue seventh edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK
2022 “Moscow in Flowers”, Museum Sadovoe koltso, Moscow, Russia
2022 “Countryside romance”, Moscow, Russia 
2022 “Art - into the home”, Association Exhibition Halls of Moscow, Moscow, Russia
2018 “Portraits of rats”, Collaboration with photographer Olga Smirnova, Loft Project Floors, St. Petersburg, Russia
2016 “Border Spaces”, ART PLAY, Moscow, Russia
2008 “Chin de pilot”, gallery on Kuznetsky Most, Moscow, Russia