Nikolina Kovalenko

My work is about humanity’s fragile connection with our environment and climate change. I hope my art makes people stop for a second and realize that the world around us is so much more diverse than we think, and it needs our love and protection.
My inspiration always emerges from nature and vulnerable ecosystems, not necessarily from a landscape in the traditional sense, but often from more zoomed in textures, to the point where they become almost abstract. I explore our philosophical connection with nature and places that evoke certain thoughts, memories and emotions. As we bond with these places, we learn to understand ourselves and our place in the world where we’re all connected not despite our differences, but because of them. Nature can teach us the secret of transformation through uniting our inner contradictions, like fire and water coexist and complement each other.
I’m drawn to rainforests, mountains, glaciers, waves, and recently got my scuba diving license to work on projects related to coral bleaching. Nature gives me inner strength, balance and happiness, and in my work I strive to capture the ephemerality of it, places that are destined to disappear if humanity doesn’t change it’s consumer attitude toward natu...

MFA in Fine Art from Moscow Surikov Art Institute 2011
Gold Medal of the Russian Art Academy

Universität der Künste Berlin student exchange program Spring 2010

Solo Shows

Gitana Rosa Gallery “Dress Code” , NYC October, 2014
Dacia Gallery “Masquerade”, NYC July-August, 2014

Museum Shows

"Sciarsism", The Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia June-August 2019

Selected Group Shows
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"Me and You", 212 Arts July 2019
"On Site", Trestle Gallery May-June 2019
NYA Fair May 2019
"Under The Perfect Canopy", Art & Mind Center, Nagoya, Japan March 2019
“Heat Fusion”, Listastofan , Reykjavik, Iceland January 2019
Dacia Gallery “Holiday Show” December 2018
“Reclamation” Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
and The Trailside Nature Center at Watchung Reservation October 2018-April 2019
Dacia Gallery 8 year Annivers...