Kateryna Bortsova Biography

Education: 1997 – Graduate from the Kharkov state Art school with honors 2003 – Graduate from Kharkov state Art College with honors. Got the diploma of junior specialist in the field of the easel painting 2007 – Graduate from Kharkov State Academy of Design and Arts. Got the diploma of bachelor in the field of graphic arts 2008 – Graduate from Kharkov National Pedagogical University. Got the diploma of master's degree in the field of fine arts and decoratively – applied arts Personal Exhibitions: 2007 – “Graphic art by Kateryna Bortsova” Personal Exhibition in Kharkov state Art museum, Kharkov, Ukraine 2002 – “People of contemporaneity” Personal Exhibition in Kharkov state Art museum, Kharkov, Ukraine 2000 – “Graphic arts” Personal Exhibition in Kharkov state Art College, Kharkov, Ukraine Biennial, competitions, group exhibitions: 2015 - 16 INTERBIFEP, Tuzla, Bosnia and Hercegovina 2015 - PRESIÓN MX 43 MOTIVOS, Mexico 2015 – BOOKILL FEST – BOOK ILLUSTRATION FESTIVAL, NOVI SAD, SERBIA 2015 - IV BIENNIAL OF WATERCOLORS OF SMALL FORMAT, BELGRADE, SERBIA 2015 – THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL GRAPHICS EXHIBITION, KRALJEVO, SERBIA 2014 – Mail Art Salon 2014, Dallas, Texas, USA 2014 – World Watercolour Competition, France 2014 – 1ST INTERNATIONAL MAIL-ART EXHIBITION BORDERS, STRASBOURG, FRANCE 2014 – "From the origins to mastery", Kharkov Art Museum, Kharkov, Ukraine 2013 – sixth International biannial of mini prints – Tetovo, Macedonia 2013 – Art Project “New Year's salon in Anatomic theater”, Kiev, Ukraine. 2013 – “A Glimpse of the Future”, 8 International Digital Miniprint Exhibition, Ottawa, Canada. 2012 – 7 International triennial of graphic art Bitola, Macedonia 2012 – “Matrices 2012” International electrographic art exhibition of small forms, Budapest, Hungary 2012 – "Creative for Human Rights" IV International Socio-Political Poster Bienniale, Poland. 2011 – fifth International biannial of mini prints – Tetovo, Macedonia 2011 – Exhibition "Jaka bede...", Ketrzyn Poland 2011 – “Haven and Earth” an international fine art exhibition, New York, USA 2010 – Exhibition of posters devoted to Tacoma International film festival 2010, Grand Cinema Tacoma, USA 2010 – Exhibition "Jaka bede...", Ketrzyn Poland 2010 – 5 International biennial of Mini prints – Tetovo 2009, Macedonia 2010 – 30 Mini Print International, Cadaques, Spain 2010 – “Matrices 2010” International electrographic art exhibition of small forms, Budapest, Hungary 2009 – X Biennial international de gravat – Josep de Ribera – Xativa, Spain 2009 – Exhibition of posters devoted to Tacoma International film festival 2009, Grand Cinema Tacoma, USA 2009 – Exhibition of posters devoted to ISCA 10th Anniversary at INTERSPEECH Conference, Brighton, England 2009 – 29 Mini Print International, Cadaques, Spain 2009 – 10 Teheran International poster biennial, Teheran Iran 2008 – First International Student Competition of Poster, Skopje 2008, “Tolerance – A Global Challenge”, Skopje, Macedonia 2008 – Exhibition of posters devoted to Sokolov International film festival, Alfa cinema in Sokolov, Czech Republic 2008 – 28 Mini Print International, Cadaques, Spain 2008 – 10 anniversary exhibition of works of teachers and students of higher educational establishments of Kharkov, Kharkov state Academy of Fine Arts, Kharkov, Ukraine 2008 – “Variations” group exhibition in Kharkov state Art museum, Kharkov, Ukraine 2007 – IX Biennial international de gravat – Josep de Ribera – Xativa, Spain 2007 – 4 International biennial of Mini prints – Tetovo 2007, Macedonia 2007 – 27 Mini Print International, Cadaques, Spain 2004 – All-Ukrainian Exhibition “Picturesque Ukraine”, Kiev, Ukraine 1999 – Exhibition in Kharkov state Art College, Kharkov, Ukraine 1996 – Regional art competition, Kharkov, Ukraine Awards, diplomas: 2014 – Finalist of International contest of posters for Talenthouse Calendar 2013 – Finalist of competition "Portrait-collage", portal YOKEN TOKEN 2012 – Winner of cover competition of Oxford University Press, Great Britain 2012 – Silver medal in the category “realism” in participation in “Factory of visual art”, New York, USA 2010 – Finalist of International poster competition “Yaya art”, Denmark 2010 – Finalist of “Free press” International poster design exhibition, Citta Fiera Martignacco, Italy 2007 – Finalist of 6 Francisco Mantecon International Advertising Poster Competition, Spain Art colony, residence and plein airs: 2014 – 21 International Art Colony Kicevo, Macedonia 2013 – International Art Plein Air Pancevo, Serbia. The works are situated in collections: private collections in Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, UK, USA; The City Gallery of Uzice, Serbia; Palazzo Sturm, Bassano del Grappa, Italy; The town hall of Xativa, Spain; collections of Bodegas Terras Gauda, S. A.; collections of Tetovo Art museum; collections of Bitola museum; collections of Hungarian Electrographic Art Association; collections of Centre d’artistes Voix Visuelle. Professional experience: now time PhD student of FSBEI HPE «Ivanovo State University», Shuyskiy branch 2010 – 2013 – researcher of department of Western European Art of Kharkov State Art Museum 2007 – 2010 – lector (graphic arts) at Kharkov state Art College

Artist's Statement

I think that art means confrontation between life and aesthetics. It is a hard struggle for both of them. Ant the understanding of art is one of the main artist’s working specialties. In the modern multipolar and multinational world art and art objects got dissolved in the routine human life. After Marcel Duchamp created a ‘readymade’ art in the 1940s we may be sure that we may find art objects around us without any force. But in order to make an art object of a simple spoon or staple there shall be need a creator – a man with endless fantasy, who sees not a dirt but a star in a pool, as Immanuel Kant said. Any person may get technical skills and practice of creating a picture by means of hard work. But not everyone may fill their work with philosophic sense, with such images which would enchant audience for ages. Now the only factor of art modernity is that it is present in art galleries and in the Internet. Regarding definition of art modernity I do not divide art works into mainstream, underground and classics. It is important for me that art masterpiece should have a response in the audience’s soul. Pictures with such quality will be always up-to-date. I as an artist believe that keeping up with ephemera fashion shall not serve as a factor of art work modernity. Let me remind you that the way of human civilization development has a form of curl. Everything new is a well-forgotten old but at the new curve of civilization. A statement that human shall study and develop oneself for a whole life impresses me very much. I consider that a talented person is obliged to find out something new throughout its life, to reach new more tops. If it ceases to develop oneself it will have nothing more to say to the audience by means of its works. At the present moment I am expanding my conception of the theoretical aspect of art and therefore I harmonize all the aspects of the talented person of mine. Despite the negative aspects which are typical of academic education, I still believe that it is necessary for each artist. But an artist shall not think that at the academy it would learn how to create real masterpieces. Throughout the whole life a talented person shall pass a difficult and even a suffering way which may be related either to external events or to comprehension of the individual self. An artist creates its own image of the world and therefore it correlates its imaginations with the common laws of universe. We know that each way shall lead to the temple but the temple may be erected inside the human’s soul. My creative process has not so many stages and technical peculiarities. Creation of a picture shall start, of course, from the image of potential work set inside my brains. Images occur in my imagination very often. It can be either imposed by impressions from the movie, theater play I saw or by simple communication with any person. Therefore I often face an opinion that my works are often based on any work of literature, but it is not right. The image of a potential picture will not leave my imagination until it is depicted on canvas or paper. Sometimes I have no time for creative works due to my large involvement in other industries. But the idea of a new picture does not leave me and I eager to set aside some time for implementation thereof in real life. After the general idea of a new picture appears in my mind I develop all the details thereof inwardly. I make a decision regarding the technique and style of my further work, regarding the best compositional conception. Sometimes after thorough thinking over I start to make a small sketch, but I do not do it always. My experience showed that the more detailed image of a picture is developed in my mind, the less time and efforts I need for implementation thereof. Meantime I have even spontaneous works. In such case I take a canvas immediately and start to paint without any thinking of the result. When I work I do not think whether someone will like my work and will buy it. I get delighted by the process itself, by the stages of creating a picture, by the way of implementation of my virtual idea. I cannot detach any certain image of the admirer of my works. I think everyone may find something close thereto among my works.