TETIANA TRETIAKOVA ART

BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1988 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, I am an artist currently based in Warsaw, Poland. A graduate of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University’s Department of Foreign Languages, I later expanded my artistic education through online courses from MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the National Gallery (London), as well as private mentorship with Ukrainian and Polish artists.

Since 2024, I have been a resident of the CUTOUT Collage Art Project. In 2025, I participated in the FRINGE Warsaw collective exhibition “In This Body, I Am” and took part in a project dedicated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Active in the art scene since 2023, I have participated in over 30 exhibitions and co-curated nine of them. My works are part of private collections in Ukraine, Spain, Poland, Germany, and Croatia.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My research begins behind the closed doors of personal therapy. Working with a psychologist on issues that trouble me, I scale these topics to broader social problems that go beyond my personal experience. Currently, my work focuses on such social issues as personal boundaries, violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), corporality, lost values, and the experience of forced immigration.

I aim to draw attention to "uncomfortable" topics and emphasize that, although we cannot change the past, we can learn not to let traumatic events destroy our future.

ACRYLIC PAINTINGS

LOUD YET SILENT

acrylic, 30x30 cm, 2025

PRAYER FOR LIFE

I want people to see that imperfection is art, not a stigma. Scars, like marks on a map, tell our stories. These stories aren’t always pleasant, but they are experiences that define our character and identity. No one else has walked even a few steps of our unique path, which is why no two bodies are ever the same — not even twins.

True compassion for others begins with self-acceptance. Society often teaches us to "fix" what makes us different, but our so-called imperfections are sacred and beautiful. By embracing our own bodies, we can see the world itself as a more beautiful place to live in. Differences are not a threat; they are what make us unique. That’s why everyone deserves to be met with respect and love.

My series embraces the full spectrum of human experience, diversity, and individuality encouraging people to honor the stories written in their bodies.

DIGITAL COLLAGE

TRAVELLER BETWEEN THE WORLDS

digital art, 2025

DREAM SELFI

digital art, 2025

INSANITY

digital art, 2025

DREAMS WITHOUT A DREAMER

The modern world is overwhelmed by wars, conflicts, global crises, and nuclear threats. To avoid losing our sanity, we each seek our own ways of coping with these emotions. Sometimes, we escape into dreams, and it is this escape that inspires my series.

This work is a reflection on modern civilization, which has advanced tremendously in technology over the centuries. Yet, when it comes to values, moral beliefs, and principles, I often feel we are regressing rather than progressing.

In the past, religion served as a kind of compass guiding people in their decisions and actions. Later, science took the lead, pushing religion into the background, especially in Europe. While scientific progress brought many benefits, it also coincided with some of the darkest chapters in human history: genocide, the Holocaust, two world wars, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This raises a haunting question: what does the modern European person believe in now?

Living in a society that seems to be gradually losing the signs of true civilization leads to existential crises. These crises create intense inner tension, adding to the pressure of external events. That is why Dreams Without a Dreamer is a series about a non-existent world, one that seem to be without meaning. Paradoxically, it is this lack of meaning that makes it appealing. In such a world, we can momentarily escape, relax, and preserve our sanity.

MIXED OIL AND ACRYLIC PAINTINGS

ANTIFRAGILE III

oil and acrylic on canvas, ink, 80x80 cm, 2024

ANTIFRAGILE II

oil and acrylic on canvas, ink, 80x80 cm, 2024

oil and acrylic on canvas, ink, 20x20 cm, 2024

CLAY FIGURES

clay figures, 2025

ANTIFRAGILE

The story of series “ANTIFRAGILE” is still in the creation process and it goes through numerous transformations. As women in my surrounded started sharing their stories about violence against them, I decided to dedicate special attention to it. It occurred that many people don’t even clearly understand what is violence and what is not.

It can be physical, sexual, psychological, and economical. This is a wild violation of people’s boundaries that includes criminal penalties. That’s not a victim who should be ashamed and feel guilty,, that’s a criminal who commits a crime should be ashamed and accused.

According to World Health Organization’s research, each forth woman starting from 15 years old, experienced violence, at least,once in her life. That’s the awful statistics which is even worse because not all victims claim that it happened. Due to this, my goal is to learn this theme and attract more attention to it: what violence is, if there are any security measures that can prevent violent situations; what to do if it happened; how to support a person who lived through violence.

EXHIBITIONS

2025 - “For the sake of the letter”, Ukraine House, Tokyo, Japan

2025 - “For the sake of the letter”, Bunker, Berlin, Germany

2025- “Identity Code: Nation, Cultural, Politics”, Paris-Tokyo-Kyiv

2025 - “In This Body, I Am”, Varsztatovnia, Warsaw, Poland

2025 - “Only After Dark”, Peremoga Business Center, Kyiv, Ukraine

2025 - “Voices of Unheard”, Prague, The Chech Republic

2025 - ArtShow Events, Warsaw, Poland

2025 - “Voices of Unheard”, Warsaw, Poland

2025 - Art Fair, Wroclaw, Poland

2025 - “For the sake of the letter”, Strasbourg, France

2025 - Immerse Fest, Orlando, USA

2025 - “For the sake of the letter”, Driebergen, Netherlands

2024 - “Fragments”, Eye.Sea.Gallery, Kyuv, Ukraine

2024 - “More Than Houses”, Kyiv, Ukraine

2024 - “My Way”, GLUBZHE FEST, Krakow, Poland

2024 - “Following own tracks”. Intellias Art Point, Lviv, Ukraine

2024 - “For the sake of the letter”, Paris, France

2024 - Emerging Artists 2024, Dodomu Gallery

2024 - “Looking into ourselves”, Kranj, Slovenia

2024 - “KORDONY 2.0”. SKLAD #5, Cherkassy, Ukraine

2024 - THED.STUDIO.WARSAW, Warsaw, Poland

2024 - “I am free in my self-expression”, CUTOUT, Kyiv, Ukraine

2024 - “Ode of Joy”, Amsterdam, Netherlands

2024- “Looking into ourselves”, CUTOUT, Kyiv, Ukraine

2024 - “Ukrainica”, Bad Schönborn, Germany

2024 - Galerie Calabro, Zurich, Switzerland

2024 - “NUDE”, Na poshti, Ternopil, Ukraine

2023 - “KORDONY”. TUASHO Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine

2023 - Ukraine. Freedom Residence. Rigas Doms, Riga, Latvia

PUBLICATIONS

2025 - Collage, Art House

2024 - Artwork Gallery, issue 6

2024 - Suboart Magazine, issue 16

2024 - Katalog Galerie Calabro, April 2024

2024 - Catalog “Ode to Joy”, 24-26.05.2024

2024 - Art House #11, Ukrainian Contemporary Artists

GET IN TOUCH

If you're seeking unique art for yourself or a meaningful gift, and something on this site resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to reach me out for further details or inquiries about my work.

EMAIL

tetianatretiakova.art@gmail.com