Katerina Nevolina

This is not the first time we have seen an exhibition of Nevolina’s work at the Galerie du Marais, Place des Vosges, a historical place dedicated to art, but what is certain is that the works presented here have acquired an even greater maturity, whether in terms of composition, both rigorous and free, or in terms of the colors that the artist knows how to choose with care and subtlety in order to create a perfect dynamism. Indeed, in Nevolina’s paintings everything is in motion and her very well mastered technique allows her, starting from a particular motif, often an urban landscape, to sublimate it into a very elaborate architecture. Some of her works remind me of theatrical sets in which we only have to create sensitive stories to make them come alive even more thanks to our imagination. And this is all the more easy as a true emotion inhabits her paintings and she has known how to move the space in the making that constitutes the white canvas. It must be said that Nevolina discovered painting in her youth by looking at art books illustrating the great Italian painters, the Impressionists, then later, by visiting museums in Paris or London. This is how she became aware of the importance of the choice of colors to be placed on a palette and also of the line which is the framework of a work of art. By measuring herself against the “Ancients”, she will work with determination in order to be part of a traditional approach, without being backward-looking, while working with modernity. One of the many qualities of this artist is the volume of her subjects transcribed on canvas. It is important to know that Nevolina, in her youth, practiced pottery by working the earth on a wheel and being subjugated by this manual work to elaborate forms, to cook them and thus to obtain effects of colors and patinas. This is how she understood the importance of volumes and also that of color: her palette contains warm colors of a beautiful intensity, with radiant effects, allowing her to work the material and give thickness to the whole. Many of the proposed themes come from readings of poems or texts that she loves from the heart, from sensations and emotions felt in everyday life. Music must also be important to her, as some of the paintings reflect musical resonances punctuated by evolving compositions. We must salute the delicacy with which she installs the light seeming to come out of the painting and bringing an almost symphonic dimension to the work. By meeting the Galerie du Marais in Paris, Paule Luciani and her son Cyril Bataille-Luciani, Nevolina has found a real home base where she can express herself and blossom in complete freedom. This new exhibition will take the viewer to dimensions inhabited by the spirit, to horizons where truth and authenticity are hidden. A beautiful work that we cannot forget! Patrice de la Perrière

Univers des Arts – October 2018

State Collection: Bryansk Regional Art Museum (permanent since 1999).

Private Collections: USA, Russia, France, Switzerland, Europe, India, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, China,…