Anya Baboyedova is a Ukrainian-born American painter whose landscapes are visual manifestations of the diverse cultural and geographical surroundings she has experienced over the years.
Born in Ukraine, where she spent her formative years drawing and learning foreign languages, Anya spent the last twenty-five years living and working in various capacities in the US, France, Italy and the UAE. Always an outsider trying to integrate into the social fibers of the cultures quite different from the ones she grew up with, Anya found a sense of belonging connecting to the landscapes around her.
“My palette is largely informed by the colors of coastal landscapes I have encountered having lived on the French Rivera, the Persian Gulf, the Ligurian coast of Italy and currently the Gulf Coast of Florida.”
Anya’s professional life as an artist began with colorful collages on paper as an extension of art projects she made at home with her children. She then began exploring other media focusing on inks and fluid acrylics first on paper and then on canvas.
“My work is about the juxtaposition of movement and stillness. I paint gesturally often tilting my canvases to move the pigmented water around. Yet, the effects I am after are often those that exude the feeling of calm and serenity.”
Working both intuitively and intentionally, Anya seeks to find harmony in her compositions. She believes that finding balance is akin to finding a sense of interior calm amidst the exterior noise one encounters, and a sense of home, regardless of the land one inhibits.
“I’m interested in making art that compels us to stop for a moment and enjoy the state of simply being. I spend a lot of time staring at my work contemplating my next steps. I think contemplation is much needed in the society we live in nowadays. We need to be able to sit still to be able to think and to see. When we look to see, we begin to notice the world within us.”
“Having been exposed to different cultures, landscapes, and dwellings, as well as seeing firsthand the impact art can make on our emotional well-being, I strongly believe art to be an integral part in helping create a sense of home away from home.”
