Antonina Popova
artist
Art with Purpose. While painting, I cannot avoid asking myself why I do what I do. Art is a language, and before pronouncing a word, one must have a reason to do so. I create my art to capture the viewer's eye with what I consider vital. I paint about nature, which we are losing at a frightening speed, or personal identity, which is not respected in our society. Before taking a canvas, I nurture the idea of what I want to show, searching for the best colourful expression and artistic tools.
Antonina Popova is a contemporary abstract artist who lives and works in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. Living close to nature defines her main artistic focus: creating ambient artworks with a touch of the untamed world. Her distinctive personal style emanates colourful harmony and expresses the vibrant, raw and boundless spirit of wild nature.
Born in Russia, Antonina started to paint when she was two years old, with her first preserved paintings dating from 1993. Spending months every year in a remote settlement with a hilly river landscape and reflecting on how it changes over time, laid the foundation for her love for nature. It also formed her belief in the beauty of every colour and her artistic curiosity about how it changes depending on its form and surrounding.
Growing up in a post-Soviet Union environment, where art was used mainly for propaganda posters and not considered a profession, she was misunderstood by her environment. After finishing art school and creative courses, Antonina had to refocus her interest on science. For some time, she kept her artistic talent inside until she moved to Europe to try to find herself.
After building an international economist career at the United Nations in Switzerland, she returned to her artistic roots and started investigating new techniques with the goal of creating her own portfolio. Fluid art captured her eye as a tool to explore colour interaction while having freedom in creating various geometrical elements.
Showing the beauty of wild nature remains her main artistic focus. Through the thematic works, Antonina tries to convey feelings of freedom, strength and omnipotence. Being immersed in Geneva’s multicultural environment for years, made her reflect a lot on the topics of identity and social values, which became complementary topics of her works. Her contemporary artworks are in private collections in Switzerland, Spain, France and Russia.
Visit her website antoninapopova.com to learn more about her art.
