Ekaterina Ilina

Born
1991
Nationality
Russian
Country
Georgia
City
Batumi

Artist statement
The paintings she creates are made in an effort to find a genuine expression of her connection with nature and harmony of life. Since childhood she experienced extraordinary moments of oneness with Earth and in those moments she has been able to set her human singularity aside and become a part of the steady heartbeat of the world. Her botanical paintings are about recalling that feeling of those magical moments. Her figurative and landscape works use simple materials such as canvas, pastel and oil. Ekaterina also experiments with different graphic techniques and street art. Works created in a spontaneous way that emphasises artist's state of mind. This process of contemplation and dissolution of the object and the mind comes from her daily experience of Buddhist meditative practices. She looks for a peaceful way to release the harmonious nature of oneself into the world.
 

 Winter dreams. Oil and pastel on canvas 93x154 sm. In 2024, I was inspired by the Adjarian garden next to my house, full of tangerines in the middle of winter. The abundance of life juice, the generosity of nature supported me in the first cold months of the year. I painted interior natural and imaginary still lifes, landscapes, dreaming of warmth, cozyness, safety and harmony. I researched the topic of the value of any life, searched for an inner state of peace and joy of being despite the troubling world
Occupation
Illustrator
artist
Biography

Education:
2009 - 2012 student of Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art, Russia / ceramics
2022 - 2023 Ukranian Psychology School (one year online course) / Jungian psychoanalysis

Selected exhibitions:
2016 “Feeling of snow” group exhibition, “Open Workshops” center, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2024 “Nudes and flowers” personal exhibition, Timoleon bar, Batumi, Georgia
2024 “Homecoming” group exhibition, Sisters Room Artist Run Space, Tbilisi, Georgia

Artist residences:
2010 Foundation “Krzyżowa”, Wroclaw, Poland

Work experience:
2012 - 2016 she worked as a restorer, a modeler and painted walls at many cultural heritage sites (the building of the Conservatory in Moscow and in Saint Petersburg, the Kronstadt Cathedral, the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg etc.) 
2018 till now - she moved to Georgia and combines freelance work as a children's book
illustrator and her artistic practice. 

Artworks in private collections in Georgia, Spain, Italy, France, Norway, Ukraine, Russia.
 

Links