In the Pasture, 6x6

About Kseniya Ostrovska

Kseniya Ostrovska was born in Ukraine and lived in various places throughout the United States before settling down in NYC to complete her studies. She has a BFA from St. John’s University and worked at the Blackburn Printshop in Manhattan. Originally focusing on printmaking, she developed an appreciation of line and texture in the natural world, the movement and chaos inherent in natural processes.

With the start of the pandemic, Kseniya retreated to the Catskill mountains and focused mainly on painting. Her art reflects her deepening connection with the garden that she planted by hand, as her tender familiarity with the plants is embedded in each painting. Kseniya has an Impressionist taste in color and expressive brushwork when working in oils and acrylics. She keeps experimenting with different materials and her new series incorporates found botanical specimens covered in gold leaf and acrylic pours. Her biggest influences are Monet, Renoir, Andrew Wyeth and Robert Kushner.

After the opportunity to live in rural upstate New York, surrounded by acres of living forest and cultivating a garden, Kseniya said she “realized how a connection with the earth gives me a sense of place and a vitality quite different from the restlessness and melancholy I experienced while living in cities.” Her work offers viewers the experience of careful attention, respect, and micro-level fascination with the natural world. Ultimately, Kseniya says, “I consider myself a citizen of the planet and my primary responsibility is to respect the planet and tread lightly on it.”