Born in 1993 | Lives and works in Helsinki, Finland and Barcelona, Spain
Anetta Lukjanova works mainly in the medium of oil paintings and public murals in a large scale. Her works combine themes from mysticism, reality and pop culture, bringing forward almost magical version of contemporary figurative realism.
A specific interest for Lukjanova is the visual language ranging from the Pre-Raphaelites to Art Nouveau. Lukjanova’s thematics develop in conversations and reflections between her peers. Lukjanova constructs the pictorial references utilising her own archive of collected objects set in personal surroundings with friends and peers as reference models. The ethos of ”everything is a still life” drives her to collect any and all materials. This feeds into her creative process which happens inside networks of associations comprising of recent ideas and the visual impulses of everyday life. The themes function to compare and contrast the cultural evolution of western societies from the late 1800’s onwards. Lukjanova has been researching witches both conceptually and historically. She is compelled to understand their history through patriarchal, religious and feminist perspectives.
Lukjanova’s way of painting in a classical style brings out the subjects of her works in a distinctive way. The still life with a bird contains macabre nuances, while the portrait-like composition reveals a ghostly motif. Interpretative openness creates space for discussion: the content, message or meaning is not fixed, but remains open. As a central feature of Lukjanova’s art, this makes the works feel alive, multilayered and deeply personal. At the same time, the classical harmony, balance, realism and clarity of her works emphasize the artist’s technical skill, careful observation and the timeless nature of beauty. The harmony of elements and the natural balance of the color palette enhance the subtle tension between beauty and unease, guiding the viewer’s attention while leaving room for personal interpretation.
Anetta Lukjanova has been classically trained in drawing and oil painting in the atelier-academy style at the Barcelona Academy of Art, from which she graduated in 2019. She also holds BFA from Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki and is currently in the MFA program. Lukjanova has exhibited her work since 2020 and has since 2017 executed public murals in e.g. Finland, Norway, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Australia and Spain, and her works are included in several private collections.