Russian-born British artist ARINA, based in London, widely exhibits her paintings all over the world and is recognized with a number of awards in the UK, USA and Europe. Her paintings have been featured at venues such as the Saatchi Gallery and Mall Galleries in London, Venice Arsenale in Italy and many others in New York, Miami, Venice, Hamburg, Marseille etc. Her works are in private collections worldwide, including Gustav Metzger private collection. ARINA studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art having graduated with Master’s degree (MA) in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, University of the Arts London. ARINA is a full-member of the Society of Women Artists (SWA) in the United Kingdom and the Portrait Society of America (PSA). Her works, exhibitions and achievements are all documented on her website. www.arina.uk.com
'The Year's Best Art' by Tamera Lenz Muente The Artist's Magazine, USA, December 2009
“If a painting needs a lot of explanation, it should have been a book or a song rather than a painting,” says Russian-born artist Arina Gordienko, who identifies herself in the art world with the single name ARINA. “I always hope that my paintings can speak for themselves”.
“I use my face as an actress does to express emotions or feelings,” says Arina. The artist deliberately altered details of her likeness so as to best depict the feeling she wanted to convey. Choosing to restrict her palette, Arina paints in monochrome to play up the influence of light, dark and middle tones on the forms. She typically accentuates the central black-and-white image with a single color, most often red. “In Russian folk or fairy tales, often the word red is equal in meaning to the word beautiful,” she says. In many cultures, the color red is associated with passion, and, as the artist points out, “the images and objects which have been created with passion can take on an immense power that’s sometimes found in religious art— a kind of powerful energy that has an ability to alter one’s mental state and even transform reality.”
Arina has completed her master’s degree in fine arts at Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London. She’s now a full-time artist and says, “For me, painting is like breathing—I just have to do it.”
ARINA
ASC Studios, Erlang House
128 Blackfriars Road
SE1 8EQ
London
London, UK
United Kingdom
Europe
