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Artist
Olena Drobysheva Welun, Poland

Artist Olena Drobysheva envisions compelling sceneries, often including architectural structures with riveting expressive techniques. Born in Donetsk, Ukraine, she began painting at six years old. "Even then, I was taking large formats of paper, watercolor, and painted my fantasies," says Olena. She fell in love with the medium and realized it was hers. She finished her degree at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts in 2000. Up until 2014, Olena held several solo exhibitions in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk. Despite all odds, she continued to express her creativity by mainly working on book illustrations and design. Her eventual displacement from the occupation led her and her children to leave their homeland in 2020, leaving everything she owned except her paintings. Now living in Poland, she finds beauty in her meaningful pieces. One of her works was nominated for the IWM Top 20+ Excellence Award in 2021—her winning piece was the first to be sold at an exhibition in France—and in the winter of 2022, she had two solo exhibitions in Kyiv. The only time she is not working is when she is traveling. "On the road, I look at the world and think about how it will look in watercolor."

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    About The Artist

    Artist Olena Drobysheva envisions compelling sceneries, often including architectural structures with riveting expressive techniques. Born in Donetsk, Ukraine, she began painting at six years old. "Even then, I was taking large formats of paper, watercolor, and painted my fantasies," says Olena. She fell in love with the medium and realized it was hers. She finished her degree at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts in 2000. Up until 2014, Olena held several solo exhibitions in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk. Despite all odds, she continued to express her creativity by mainly working on book illustrations and design. Her eventual displacement from the occupation led her and her children to leave their homeland in 2020, leaving everything she owned except her paintings. Now living in Poland, she finds beauty in her meaningful pieces. One of her works was nominated for the IWM Top 20+ Excellence Award in 2021—her winning piece was the first to be sold at an exhibition in France—and in the winter of 2022, she had two solo exhibitions in Kyiv. The only time she is not working is when she is traveling. "On the road, I look at the world and think about how it will look in watercolor."

    Artist Statement

    Born in Ukraine in the city of Donetsk. I have been drawing since the age of six. Even then I was taking large formats of paper, and watercolor, and writing my fantasies. The next step in my development as an artist was my studies at the Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts in 2000. I became to develop myself as a watercolorist only after 10 years. I fell in love with this technique and realized that it was mine. I have held several personal exhibitions in Ukraine (Zaporozhye, Donetsk). In 2014 exhibition activities stopped, and the war came to my house, I did not make exhibitions in occupied Donetsk. But I continued to paint and mainly worked on book illustrations and design. In 2020, I lost all hope that peace will come to Donetsk. I and my two children left the occupation. We left everything we had and moved out. All I took out were paintings. We moved to live near Kyiv. Our house was between Borodyanka and Bucha. In the winter of 2022, I had two solo exhibitions in Kyiv. In March, April, May, and June I was preparing for other exhibitions, personal and collective. Both in Ukraine and in Europe. In 2021, my work Withering was nominated for the IWM watercolor Top 20+ Excellence award. In March, the winning work was one of the first to be sold at an exhibition in France. Then there was the war.

    Artist Background

    Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts
    Master of Fine Arts, 2000

    Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts

    Bachelor of Arts, 2000

    Hear What Collectors Say About Olena's Work

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