TETIANA TRETIAKOVA ARTIST

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. In 2026 was a resident of Biruchiy Cortemilia.

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

ARTIST STATEMENT

The goal of my art is to emphasize that although we cannot change the past, we can learn not to let traumatic events destroy our future.

Our bodies remember each experience, becoming a memory store, some of which are left undigested, forming our bodily relief. That is why no matter what theme I choose, I always refer to corporeality, where the body becomes either a medium or a visual language to discover the chosen topics.

The focus of my research is the following topics: violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), forced immigration, rethinking the values of modern people, corporeality, and research of how body ideals were changing throughout the mankind.

Red color in my paintings is manifesting passion for life which directly correlates with the goal of my art.

ACRYLIC PAINTINGS

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.

LOUD YET SILENT

acrylic, 30x30 cm, 2025

OIL PAINTINGS

MADNESS

“Torn apart” is a methaphor that people use to describe difficult emotional states. In such moments, any connection with reality is lost, there is no contact with the body, and decisions are made at the level of instincts.

I know this state not from someone’s stories, but from my own experience. The ground shifts beneath your feet; you cannot pull yourself together; pillars that existed before no longer stand - it’s a state of weightlessness. A moment comes when you must find the gravity back and return to your life. My return started with a banal question: do I want to live?

It felt like a bucket with a freezing water was thrown at me. Yes, I do. Without any doubts. So, the first I did was paint because that is something that defines me, a part I didn’t acknowledge and recognize before. These were the most complicated but the important steps towards myself and towards reclaiming my life.

This series are dedicated to the journey from despair to determination. As I gather myself piece by piece, I create paintings that I hope will illuminate the path like a lighthouse for those who are currently searching for their own way out of the darkness.

WIND OF CHANGE

oil on canvas, 100x80 cm, 2026

NO LOGIC

oil on canvas, paper, spray, 100x80 cm, 2024

BREATHLESS

oil on canvas, sacking, spray, 100x80 cm, 2024

CRACKS

oil on canvas, mirror, spray, 100x80 cm, 2024

DIGITAL COLLAGE

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.

TRAVELLER BETWEEN THE WORLDS

digital art, 2025

DREAM SELFI

digital art, 2025

INSANITY

digital art, 2025

MIXED OIL AND ACRYLIC PAINTINGS

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.

ANTIFRAGILE III

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

ANTIFRAGILE II

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

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2025 - "Modlitwa za życie"Siedlce, Poland

CHOSEN COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS

2026 - "Collage", Between Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2026 - "Coming Home", Pezzolo Valle Uzzone, Cortemilia, Italy

2026 - “Akt widzenia - sztuka niegrana”, Teatr Polski, Poznan, Poland

2026 - “Red. Between Meaning And Experience”, A-Z Studio, Siedle, Poland

2026 - “IN This Body, I Am”, Intellias Art Point, Lviv, Ukraine

2025 - “Identity Code: Nation, Cultural, Politics”, Le bonhear est dans l’instant Gallery, Paris, France || Between Gallery, Tokyo, Japan || Kyiv National Art Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine

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

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

2025 - “Voices of Unheard”, Varsztatovnia, Warsaw, Poland || Mezi Ploty Festival, Prague, The Chech Republic

2025 - “For the sake of the letter”, Antropia Cultural and Conference Centre, Driebergen, Netherlands || Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France || Annex Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan || Berlin Story Bunker, Berlin, Germany

2025 - Immerse Fest, Orlando, USA (video art)

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

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

2024 - “For the sake of the letter”, Le bonhear est dans l’instant Gallery, Paris, France

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

2024 - “Ode of Joy”, Loods 6, Amsterdam, Netherlands

2024- “Looking into ourselves”, CUTOUT COLLAGE STUDIO, Kyiv, Ukraine || Layer House, Kranj, Slovenia

2024 - “Ukrainica”, Bad Schönborn, Germany

2024 - Galerie Calabro, Zurich, Switzerland

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

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

PUBLICATIONS

2026 - Interview for Curatory Magazine, issue 13

2025 - Interview for UARTIST (UA)

2025 - Collages, Art House

2024 - Artwork Gallery, issue 6 I INTERVIEW

2024 - Suboart Magazine, issue 16

2024 - Katalog Galerie Calabro, April 2024

2024 - Art House #11, Ukrainian Contemporary Artists

RESIDENCY

2026 - Biruchiy Cortemilia, Italy

ART FAIRS

2025-26 - Targowisko Sztuki, Konoser, Warsaw

2025 - ArtShow Events, Warsaw, Poland

EDUCATION

2026 - Summer School 2.0, Galicia Jewish Museum, Krakow, Poland

2026 - preparation courses to enter Fine Art Academy

2023 - The National Gallery (UK) online course: Classical Mythology in European Art, City by City, Stories by Art

2023 - Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum online Course: Color Theory

2023 - MoMA online course: Modern Art & Ideas, What is Contemporary Art?

2022 - Udemy online course: Art History. Renaissance to 20th Century

2021 - MoMA online course: In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting

2005-2010 - V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, foreign languages department

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