Kristina Kalmykova Jaross

Biography

I was born on November 16, 1991, in Yuzhny — a small, warm coastal town near Odesa, Ukraine. In 2007, I graduated from art school after studying there for five years. Art had always been a part of me, but the journey to fully embrace it was longer than expected.

In 2009, I entered OGASA in Odesa to study Urban Construction and Management. By my fourth year, I already knew that engineering wasn’t my calling — I wanted to paint. After graduation, I spent a year working jobs that didn’t resonate with me: legal assistant, call center operator… nothing felt right. Eventually, I moved to Kyiv and began taking custom art commissions.

That time was important but emotionally difficult. I didn’t feel like myself. I had to paint what others wanted — not what my soul was longing to express. Some projects were inspiring, but others… I’ll never forget one in particular: I was asked to paint a defecating dog. It turned out beautifully, technically speaking — light, shadow, texture — but I cried as I painted it. The image was technically perfect but felt completely wrong in my heart. That piece was commissioned by a Ukrainian designer who now dresses the First Lady and President.

It was then I realized how deeply I wanted to use my g...

Yuzhnenskaya school of art 2007;
Odessa State Academy of Construction and Architecture 2014